


That's How It Works (That's How You Get the Girl)

by g_odalisque13



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Bisexual Character, Bisexuality, Deception, F/F, Humor, Lesbian Character, Lesbian Sex, Lies, Romance, Sexuality Crisis, Slice of Life, Student Council, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-04
Updated: 2016-03-04
Packaged: 2018-05-24 15:15:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 39,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6157822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/g_odalisque13/pseuds/g_odalisque13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Baekhyun is determined to make the student council lesbians only this year. Joonmyun really wants to be able to put student council vice president on her college resumes, but the problem is that she's not a lesbian. So, in order to get the position, she has to lie about her sexuality. The last thing she expects is to develop feelings for Baekhyun. Because she's not really a lesbian, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	That's How It Works (That's How You Get the Girl)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the first round of [NabiSonyeo](http://girlexochange.livejournal.com/) and originally posted [here](http://girlexochange.livejournal.com/1579.html). Posted on December 16, 2014 on my [LJ](http://g-odalisque13.livejournal.com/87183.html).

“Can you believe it?” Joonmyun asked, huffing from where she was sprawled on Minseok's bed, “Lesbians only. That's gotta be against the rules, right?”

“Probably,” Minseok shrugged, spinning in her desk chair and ignoring the physics homework that was open on her desk, “But from what I've heard about Baekhyun, I'm not surprised that she's trying to make the student council lesbian only.”

“How can she pull it off though? I mean, I can't be the only one who wants to run who's not a lesbian. It's insane.”

“I think people would probably just prefer to let her do whatever than argue, honestly.”

Joonmyun groaned and dropped her head onto the bedspread.

“But, I need it for college applications! If I want to get into Princeton's poly-sci program, I need to do everything I can!” she complained, “I want to be able to put student council on my application when I send it out!”

“Joonmyun,” Minseok said with a sigh, leveling her with a look, “You _started_ the model UN at our school. You get straight A's. You're in an outreach choir that sings at nursing homes. You're _fine_.”

“But-” she started, but stopped when Minseok cut her off.

“Just focus on your college essays and keep being the perfect student,” she told her, “Just let Baekhyun do whatever and let it go. Don't drive yourself crazy over this. I swear, you'll be fine.”

Joonmyun sighed, but conceded, “You're right.”

“I know,” Minseok informed her with a cheeky grin that had Joonmyun laughing and acting like she was going to throw a pillow at her, “Now let's get started on our physics homework since _someone_ insisted that physics AP was a good idea.”

“Alright,” Joonmyun agreed, sitting up on the bed and pulling her textbook from her bag.

Minseok was probably right. It definitely sucked that she couldn't run for student council (or, she couldn't _win_ , at least if Baekhyun was successful), but she had plenty of other things going for her. She'd be fine.

 

\---

 

She was totally not going to be fine. She needed student council for her college applications and she was going to be absolutely fucked if she couldn't join.

If she'd learned anything from the college fair, it was that she was the only person in the history of the world who wanted to major in political science who wasn't going to be on student council their senior year in high school.

Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but it's what it felt like.

At every booth she went to (including her beloved Princeton) and told the representatives from that college that she wanted to major in poly-sci, she was asked if she was on student council. And the other prospective applicants that she's spoken to who were applying for the same programs as she was all could boast about their involvement in student council- that year _and_ the year previous.

Joonmyun hadn't even bothered to run as a junior because it had always only been seniors who ran since she'd been in high school. And then, somehow, Baekhyun, a junior at the time, had managed to get elected as secretary.

What was it about that girl that allowed her to just do whatever she wanted?

Regardless, Joonmyun needed to figure out how to get a spot on that year's student council.

This wasn't just something she could brush off. Her future was on the line!

She had to come up with a plan and she had to do it before the week was over. Otherwise, she could kiss her dreams of attending Princeton goodbye.

 

\---

 

“You're gonna _what_?” Minseok exclaimed the following day at lunch- mouth hanging open and her eyes wide and judging.

“Shh! Not so loud!” Joonmyun hissed, flapping her hands and looking around to make sure no one was listening in.

Minseok was still staring at her like she was insane.

“You're seriously going to pretend to be a lesbian?” she demanded, quieter this time, but just as judgmental, “Joonmyun! That's a terrible idea!”

“Why is it so terrible?” she asked, chin jutting out defiantly even though she knew it was pretty crazy.

Minseok just blinked at her like she couldn't even fathom that they were having this conversation.

“How can you even do that? You have a _boyfriend_.”

“I'll just have to break up with him, that's all,” Joonmyun told her with a shrug and Minseok's eyes on her became even more judgmental, if that was possible.

“You'd break up with Kyuhyun _just_ to be on student council?” she asked, eyebrow cocked disbelievingly.

“It's to get into Princeton!” Joonmyun stressed, “It'll be worth it if it increases my chances of getting into Princeton.”

Minseok continued staring at her.

“I used to think you were really sane and logical,” she confessed with a shake of her head.

“This is _so_ logical!” Joonmyun defended, “I need to be on student council to get into the poly-sci program at Princeton. I need to be a lesbian to be on the student council. _Therefore_ , I need to pretend to be a lesbian to get into Princeton!”

“I see the line of reasoning,” Minseok assured her, “But that doesn't mean that actually _doing_ it is a good idea.”

“Well, it's not the optimum situation,” Joonmyun admitted, picking at her sandwich, “But it is what it is and I need to do what I can, given the circumstances.”

Minseok blew out a breath and shook her head rapidly like she was trying to shake off the entire idea.

“Do what you want, but don't say I didn't warn you that this was a horrible idea,” she finally told her, going back to her pizza.

“Noted,” Joonmyun said, unscrewing the cap on her water bottle and taking a drink.

She knew it was nuts, but her mind was made up.

It was for Princeton.

 

\---

 

“So, that's why we need to break up,” Joonmyun finished, waiting for Kyuhyun's response nervously.

They were standing at Kyuhyun's locker after school the following day and Joonmyun could see the way a few students were trying to discreetly listen in to their conversation. But she figured that it would add to the credibility of her story if there were witnesses who had seen her break up with Kyuhyun. Because she knew how suspicious it was that she was “coming out” just days before she was going to run for student council.

Kyuhyun frowned.

“You're...a lesbian?” he asked, looking somewhat disbelieving.

Joonmyun nodded and hoped that he wouldn't be able to tell that she was lying.

He sighed.

“Are you sure you don't just want to run for student council?” he asked, shooting her a knowing look and Joonmyun mentally cursed.

“It's not-” she started before breaking off and taking a breath.

She was prepared. She could do this.

“Obviously, I _do_ want to run for student council,” she confessed, because there was no sense in denying that, “It's just given me an incentive to come out.”

Kyuhyun still didn't look convinced and Joonmyun tried not to panic.

“Look, I'm sorry I led you on,” she said, feeling like shit for having to lie like this when she really _did_ like Kyuhyun, “I just was afraid to accept my sexuality before because I thought that it would hurt my reputation. But now...maybe this is a sign, you know? Maybe it's what I needed to realize that I can't be successful without being upfront about who I am.”

The irony of that statement did not escape her.

Kyuhyun sighed again, but this time, he seemed a little upset.

“Shit, Joonmyun,” he cursed, “So this whole time you were just pretending because you thought being open about being a lesbian would hurt your chances of getting into politics, or something?”

Joonmyun nodded sheepishly because that made her sound like such an asshole. And it was even worse, because the truth made her seem even _more_ like an asshole.

“Were you ever planning on telling me that you didn't like men?” he demanded, running his fingers agitatedly through his hair.

“Well, I didn't think it would matter in the long run. I mean, it's not like we were going to stay together beyond high school...”

The last part, at least, was true.

“I see,” he replied, laughing humorously, and Joonmyun felt really bad.

But she'd made up her mind, so she just nodded.

“Well, then,” he said, “Good luck with student council.” It was really more of a scoff than a well-wishing, but Joonmyun knew she deserved it.

As Kyuhyun stalked away, understandably upset, Joonmyun didn't know if she was more regretful or more relieved.

She acknowledged that relief was probably not the correct emotion at all, but at least she was one step closer to her goal.

 

\---

 

It was no surprise that the entirety of the school knew about Joonmyun's alleged attraction to the women by midway through the following morning. A few students congratulated her and offered their support. A few scoffed when she passed them in the hall. But for the most part, it was just a lot of whispering and staring and general intrigue.

All the attention was kind of overwhelming, but Joonmyun figured that it'd at least have her at the forefront of people's minds, which would most likely help when it came time to vote.

Two days after she'd broken up with Kyuhyun, Joonmyun officially began running for student council vice president, which was the only spot that didn't seem to be claimed by some lesbian hand-picked by Baekhyun. And vice president suited Joonmyun just fine. She would have preferred president, but she wasn't stupid enough to think she'd be able to beat Baekhyun, who was the only returning member.

There were a couple of other students running for vice president, but they didn't seem like they would be much competition. One was a junior girl who was, quite frankly, a nobody. The other was a senior guy, but Baekhyun, determined to have no boys on the council, seemed to be doing a good job of defaming his character. Lucky for her, he didn't seem to be the most upstanding student, so her work was nearly done for her.

Baekhyun was definitely doing a very thorough job of screening all of the candidates.

Which was why Joonmyun shouldn't have been surprised when the two junior girls Baekhyun was endorsing for secretary and treasurer showed up at her locker when she was packing up to go home early the following week.

“You're Joonmyun, right?” the one with the pink hair that went down to her waist asked, face showing absolutely no expression whatsoever.

Joonmyun wondered if this was Baekhyun's way of trying to intimidate her to drop out of the election. Though she didn't know why she'd want that considering Joonmyun was allegedly a lesbian now.

Joonmyun nodded, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and shooting the girls a smile.

“I'm Joonmyun Kim,” she introduced herself, confident but friendly, and held out her hand.

The girl with the pink hair looked over at the other girl, who had numerous ear piercings and her dark hair cut into an angled bob, in what seemed to be confusion before she took the proffered hand.

“Sehun Oh,” she said, still unsmiling and seeming bored by the whole exchange despite the fact that she'd been the one to address Joonmyun initially.

“Zitao Huang,” the other girl jumped in, holding out her own hand to Joonmyun and shooting her a smile that seemed one part cute and one part conniving.

“Nice to meet you,” Joonmyun told them both, knowing that their impression of her could make or break her campaign.

As dumb as it was, if they went back to Baekhyun and gave her a negative report, she was as good as out.

“You too,” Zitao told her, tossing her chin length hair back with ringed fingers, “We've been hearing a lot about you in the last few days.”

Her curvy lips settled into a smirk that wasn't entirely unfriendly, and Joonmyun hoped that she was as good at reading people as she thought she was.

“ _I've_ been hearing a lot about me in the last few days too,” Joonmyun joked, and she thought she saw Sehun's lips make a move at a smile before aborting the attempt entirely.

“So, you've heard you're a lesbian, then,” Zitao teased, and Joonmyun laughed.

“Yes, I have heard that.”

“Are you?” Zitao asked, lips still curved, but eyes searching.

Joonmyun nodded, reminding herself not to panic.

“I'm sure you know I broke up with my boyfriend because of it,” she said and they both nodded- nearly in unison.

“So why _now_?” Zitao pressed, and Joonmyun knew for a fact that Baekhyun had sent them to feel her out.

“Because hiding it would have cost me a chance to be on the student council,” she told them semi-honestly.

“And before you were happy just dating boys and lying?” Zitao challenged, Sehun's hands wrapping around Zitao's forearm and holding on.

“It was easier that way,” Joonmyun shrugged, “But this gave me an incentive to come out.”

The two girls were looking at her quizzically, and Joonmyun tried to keep from fidgeting as she was appraised.

“Are you glad you did?” Zitao questioned, Sehun moving to rest her chin on the other girl's shoulder as they waited for her answer.

Joonmyun took a deep breath before exhaling and smiling, “I am.”

After a moment of consideration, Zitao's lips spread into a genuine grin that immediately had her looking less intimidating than she had before. Even Sehun's lips were pulled up in a closed-mouth smile.

“Let us know if you need anything,” she told her, digging in her pocket to pull out a piece of folded paper that she handed to Joonmyun.

Joonmyun looked at what was written on it and was surprised to see both Zitao's and Sehun's phone numbers, along with those of Baekhyun and Chanyeol- Baekhyun's best friend who was running for public relations director.

Her surprise must have shown on her face because, Zitao reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“We like to support each other,” she told her with a soft smile that had Joonmyun's chest feeling warm despite the fact that her kindness was based on a lie, “So don't hesitate to contact any of us if you need anything. Coming out can be tough. But you're not alone.”

Joonmyun stuttered out a thank you before the two girls bid her goodbye, walking away from her hand in hand.

Well, she seemed to have passed whatever test that had been.

And she only felt a little bad that she was lying to them. Because she was meant to be on the student council, regardless of what she had to do to accomplish it.

 

\---

 

It felt a little cocky to say that she hadn't been surprised when she'd won, but truthfully, she hadn't been. After Sehun and Zitao had been sent to feel her out, it was no secret that Baekhyun was in support of her campaign. And though Joonmyun had done all of the necessary things one was supposed to do to win an election- campaign posters, reasonable promises, well thought out speeches- she suspected that it was mostly just due to Baekhyun's endorsement. Which was fine by her. Because she had the opportunity to really show just how qualified she was now that she was actually on the council.

Of course, this wasn't just any student council, so Joonmyun knew that she had to play her cards just right.

She also knew that she had to be ready for anything.

So she wasn't even taken all that off guard when Baekhyun had come to her locker to congratulate her on her win and invite her to a celebratory gathering at Chanyeol's that Friday night. Apparently it would just be the five of them and it was meant as a way to bond and get to know each other before their very first meeting the following Monday.

Joonmyun was pretty sure the other four knew each other pretty well already, but she was not at all opposed to getting to know everyone. They were going to be working closely together all year, so it was only logical that they build a strong foundation in order to reach their full potential.

But even though Joonmyun probably _should_ have been expecting it, she was momentarily dumbfounded when Chanyeol brought out a couple packs of beer from the basement fridge and Baekhyun pulled out a bottle of vodka from her oversized purse.

Joonmyun didn't drink.

The only time she'd ever had alcohol was when her father offered to let her have a sip of the expensive wine he had with dinner sometimes.

It wasn't that she was afraid or anything. She just generally thought it was a stupid thing to do- especially as a high school student. Why risk the consequences of getting caught just to behave like an idiot in front of your classmates?

This, she allowed, might have been the one exception to her own personal rules.

She already didn't fit in with the other girls (not that they knew it), so she didn't want to do anything to further ostracize herself. She needed to stay on their good sides and not invite any unnecessary questions about her lifestyle choices, so when Chanyeol held out a can of beer to her, she accepted with a smile and a simple _thank you_.

Joonmyun drank slowly, just feeling a slight light-headed sensation when she got to the bottom of her can, but it didn't take long for the other girls to start acting tipsy.

“I'd keep Ellen Page, kill Kim Kardashian, and fuck Taylor Swift,” Baekhyun announced an hour into the evening in the midst of a rousing game of keep, kill, or fuck.

“You're fucking Taylor Swift?” Zitao asked with a judgmental raise of an eyebrow.

“Well, I thought about fucking Kim just because of her ass,” Baekhyun confessed, “But I think it'd be more fun to show Taylor Swift the joys of lesbian sex.”

“Said like someone who's actually _had_ lesbian sex,” Sehun scoffed and then broke down into a fit of giggles a second later despite her deadpan delivery.

“Hey,” Baekhyun pointed a finger at the younger girl, “Just because you and Zitao have been fucking since you guys were sophomores doesn't mean everyone can find a girlfriend in a small town so easily.”

Joonmyun's eyes widened.

“You guys are...” she asked before she could stop herself, trailing off with a blush when she realized she'd spoken.

Baekhyun snorted as Chanyeol howled with laughter.

“How did you not know that?” Baekhyun asked, chuckling in amusement.

Joonmyun didn't know what was so funny.

“They're attached at the hip,” Chanyeol pointed out, still laughing.

“And at the mouth. And at the-”

“We get it!” Chanyeol cut Baekhyun off, and Joonmyun was grateful.

“I guess I just never noticed,” Joonmyun said with a shrug and watched as Zitao proudly hooked an arm around Sehun's shoulders.

“We're not _just_ fucking, by the way,” Zitao added, shooting a gentle look at Sehun before continuing, “We're dating. She's my girlfriend.”

Baekhyun pretended to gag. “Yeah, yeah. We don't need to see all the mushy gushy stuff. We already have to see all the groping. Spare us something.”

Zitao smirked and leaned over to press a sweet kiss on Sehun's lips even as Chanyeol wolf-whistled and Baekhyun continued to complain.

“Alright! Joonmyun's turn for keep, kill, or fuck!” Baekhyun announced and Joonmyun swallowed nervously. She'd never really given any thought to what female celebrities she'd want to have sex with.

And there had been some male names thrown out, but those instances were made to have the recipient of the three name selection recoiling in distaste.

“Okay, let's see,” Baekhyun mused, tapping her pointed chin with a delicate finger, “Jessie J, Nicki Minaj, and Ariana Grande.”

“Original,” Zitao scoffed, and Baekhyun shot her a look as Chanyeol started humming _Bang Bang_.

“Um...” Joonmyun didn't know much about any of them to be honest, “Uh...keep Nicki Minaj, fuck...Jessie J? And...kill Ariana Grande?”

“How dare you!” Sehun gasped, “You can't kill Ariana!”

“Sehun has a boner for her,” Chanyeol explained as though Sehun's outburst needed an explanation.

“I do not!” Sehun protested, “I just like her music, okay?”

“What about that dream you had about her that one time, then, where she-”

“Shut up!” Sehun screeched, leaping into Zitao's lap and trying to cover her mouth with her hands as Zitao laughed.

“I'm not committed to my choices,” Joonmyun offered, “I can keep her...”

“Do not give into Sehun's whining,” Baekhyun told her, “Number one rule of life. I support your decision. You kept the ones with nice asses. Good job!” She gave Joonmyun a thumbs up.

“You and butts,” Chanyeol snorted, opening a new can of beer.

“Butts are important!” Baekhyun defended, more passionate than Joonmyun had ever seen her. She couldn't help the laughter that escaped.

After another hour, Joonmyun was starting to feel tipsy and the other girls were verging on drunk.

"She's so _perfect_!" Chanyeol wailed, standing on the coffee table and then making the precarious two foot leap to the couch to stand on that instead.

"We _know_ ," Zitao groaned, burying her head beneath Sehun's chin- dangerously close to having her face shoved between Sehun's boobs.

"But her _smile_!" Chanyeol went on, stepping across the cushions and bracing her hand against the wall to keep her balance, "It looks like a heart! A _heart_! How is that remotely fair?"

"It _looks_ like she is considering homicide," Baekhyun corrected from her place on the floor- one of her legs thrown across Jonnmyun's shins.

Chanyeol pouted. "It doesn't look like that _all_ the time."

"Only when she's looking at you," Baekhyun teased and Chanyeol nearly fell off the couch trying to bend down to pick up a pillow to whip at Baekhyun.

"So, who do _you_ have a crush on?" Baekhyun asked Joonmyun after slinging the pillow back at Chanyeol and missing by over a foot.

Joonmyun nearly choked on nothing, "Me?"

"Well, yeah," Baekhyun laughed, "We know Chanyeol wants in Kyungsoo's pants and that Sehun has a thing for Ariana Grande."

Joonmyun looked over, expecting to hear more denials from Sehun, but was assaulted with the image of Zitao on top of Sehun with her tongue down her throat. She quickly brought her eyes back to Baekhyun's face, sure that her cheeks were red.

"And we know that Zitao only has eyes for Sehun," Baekhyun snorted, throwing an empty candy wrapper at the pair only to have it fall extremely short- landing next to Joonmyun's socked foot.

"And you just want anyone with half a decent ass," Chanyeol piped up, giving up on staying balanced and flopping down on the couch.

"I don't-" Joonmyun tried, "I can't. I-"

"Oh, right!" Chanyeol exclaimed, snapping her fingers, "You _just_ broke up with Kyuhyun."

Joonmyun nodded.

"You probably haven't even had a chance to process that," she added sympathetically and Joonmyun was glad for the excuse.

"Well, start looking! Appreciate all the attractive girls around you!" Baekhyun urged, gesticulating widely.

"You're so modest," Chanyeol snorted, reaching out and smacking Baekhyun on the shoulder and nearly managing to roll off the couch in the process.

"I wasn't referring to myself, but yes, I am in the category of _attractive girls_. You're right," she told Chanyeol tossing her chocolate brown bob over her shoulder.

"So, what's it like dating a dude?" Chanyeol asked just when Joonmyun was hoping they'd be able to change topics and get the spotlight off of her.

"Uh..." Joonmyun laughed nervously, "It's probably pretty similar to dating a girl, I'd guess."

Chanyeol nodded seriously, like Joonmyun had actually offered some insightful information.

"Did you, like, _do_ stuff?" Sehun asked from where she was leaning against Zitao's front, seated comfortably in the v of her legs.

Apparently, they were done making out. For the moment, at least.

Joonmyun felt her cheeks flush.

"Only a little," she admitted, embarrassed to be asked about it. She and Minseok never discussed this stuff.

"Like what?" Baekhyun tactlessly asked, taking another drink of her vodka and orange juice.

Joonmyun felt her cheeks burn even as she took another sip of beer for courage.

"We made out pretty regularly, I guess?" she started, fingers tapping out a rhythm against the can in her hands.

"But did you, like, touch his...you know," Sehun prompted, looking nearly as embarrassed to have asked as Joonmyun felt having to answer.

"His dick, Sehun?" Baekhyun teased, laughing when Sehun stuck her tongue out at her.

"For someone whose typical weekend involves dry humping her girlfriend in front of her friends, you're sure a prude about some things," Chanyeol laughed, and Sehun whined and turned her head to bury her face in Zitao's neck.

“So?” Baekhyun urged when Joonmyun still hadn’t said anything, “Did you?”

“A...a couple times,” Joonmyun admitted, feeling so weird talking about it. This was not in her comfort zone. Sure, she’d been the one to do it, but actually _talking_ about it...that was something else entirely.

“Did you guys have sex?” Chanyeol asked with wide eyes.

Joonmyun had never thought that her heterosexual sex life would have been so interesting to a group of lesbians.

“No,” she shook her head, laughing a little even as she fidgeted under the four sets of eyes.

“Did you give him head?” Zitao piped up, nose wrinkling with disgust.

Joonmyun shook her head again, tipping her can of beer back and finishing the rest.

“So, you just jerked him off, then,” Baekhyun surmised, looking thoughtful.

Joonmyun nodded, tapping her empty can with the nails on her index fingers- the tinny sound filling the silence that had fallen over them as they seemed to be absorbing that fact.

“What was it like?” Sehun asked quietly after a moment, curled up in Zitao’s embrace like she was only comfortable enough to ask because she felt safe in the arms of her girlfriend.

“You’ll have to excuse Sehun,” Baekhyun jumped in, placing a hand on Joonmyun’s forearm, “She’s never had any experience with boys since she realized she was gay so early.”

“Neither have you!” Sehun protested, pointing an accusatory finger at Baekhyun.

“I had a boyfriend once,” Baekhyun defended, and Zitao snorted.

“In elementary school,” she pointed out.

“Whatever,” Baekhyun huffed, leaning back against the couch to sulk and managing to crush Chanyeol’s hand between her knobby spine and the side of the couch.

Chanyeol yelped in pain and Baekhyun sighed like everyone was ganging up on her.

“So,” she said, looking back at Joonmyun, “What _was_ it like?”

Joonmyun huffed out a nervous laugh and bent her head so her long, auburn hair fell forward and covered her cheeks.

“It was okay, I guess? I dunno,” she mumbled.

Truthfully, she’d never given it much thought. It was just what you did when you had a boyfriend.

“Okay?” Zitao asked, sounding scandalized.

“I dunno,” Joonmyun repeated, “I didn’t really think about it. I just...did it.”

Baekhyun made some humming sound like what she’d said had made sense. That was good, because Joonmyun didn’t really know what she was saying.

“Did he get you off?” Chanyeol wanted to know then, and Joonmyun wondered when they were going to get bored of this topic.

Maybe if she hadn’t been drinking, Joonmyun would have lied, but as it was, she wasn’t thinking too hard.

“Yeah?” she answered. Why wouldn’t he have? What was the point of any of it if she didn’t at least get something out of it.

“Just with his hands?” Sehun asked, and _really_. Joonmyun had never been this interested in her _own_ sex life.

“Yeah?”

“How was it?” Zitao asked, brows furrowed in a way that suggested she was imagining the idea of getting off via a guy’s hands and was displeased by those thoughts.

“I dunno,” Joonmyun said for what felt like the tenth time since they’d started asking her questions, “I mean, I got off.” She huffed out an incredulous laugh.

“You’ve never had a girl do it?” Baekhyun asked, and it took Joonmyun a moment to realize what she meant.

She was supposed to be a lesbian. Right.

“Neither have you!” Sehun accused loudly and Baekhyun made a sound of frustration.

“I am _aware_ , Sehun,” she groused, “I was just _asking_.”

Sehun made a face at her.

“No, I haven’t,” Joonmyun answered, and Baekhyun nodded in understanding.

“So was it better or worse than masturbating?” Chanyeol asked her, then.

“You guys!” she exclaimed with a giggle, alcohol making her head feel light.

“Getting fingered by someone else is obviously better than doing it yourself,” Sehun seriously informed Chanyeol like she was stupid.

“I’m asking because it was a _dude_ doing it,” Chanyeol reminded her, “You don’t need to keep reminding Baek and I that you guys have more experience than we do.”

“Oh,” Sehun muttered, falling back into Zitao’s chest and tilting her head to the side as Zitao pressed a line of kisses up the side of her neck.

“It was…” Joonmyun paused, unsure of how to answer. This was definitely more thought she’d ever given to her sexual experiences with Kyuhyun.

“You don’t have to answer,” Chanyeol told her when her pause stretched too long, but Joonmyun waved her off.

Suddenly, it felt kind of nice to talk about.

“It was...the same?” she ventured thoughtfully, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, “I mean, it was different, obviously. But, it wasn’t better or worse than masturbating.”

“It’ll be better when it’s a girl,” Sehun assured her, confident in her promise.

Joonmyun didn’t want to outright agree since she didn’t actually have any interest in girls, so instead she giggled and said, “Well, I’d imagine girls have a better idea of what they’re doing.”

“Amen,” Baekhyun said, holding her glass up.

“Baekhyun, you don’t-”

“I _know_ , Sehun! For fuck’s sake! Go have sex with your girlfriend or something.”

As if on cue, Zitao’s hand came around to cup Sehun’s breast through her t-shirt and Chanyeol squawked, “Not here!”

It must have been the alcohol, Joonmyun thought, as she snorted out a laugh and found herself with a serious case of the giggles that had everyone staring at her in confusion before joining in- even Sehun and Zitao took a break from inhaling each other to laugh at the nothing Joonmyun was giggling at.

Joonmyun laughed until there were tears streaming down her cheeks and she was clutching at her abdomen as it seized up in pain.

She felt better than she had in ages.

 

\---

 

Come Monday afternoon, Joonmyun was grateful for the celebratory gathering at Chanyeol’s as it had given her the opportunity to get to know her fellow council members before they actually had a meeting together. Not that much occurred at the first meeting. It was all introductions (that had already happened the previous weekend, unbeknownst to the faculty advisor), overviews of their individual responsibilities, as well as what they’d be expected to do as a group over the course of the following year.

“Baekhyun,” their advisor told her, “You will be in charge of leading all meetings, being the liaison between the council and the faculty, and working with the advisor on all planning.”

Baekhyun nodded, jotting down notes in the margins of the schedule they were each given.

Joonmyun was met with a brief stab of jealousy that she wasn’t the one with the most responsibility, but quickly swallowed it down when their advisor addressed her to smile at her as she took careful notes in her notebook.

“Joonmyun, you will work closely with Baekhyun and assume her duties if needed.”

Baekhyun shot her a teasing look, like Joonmyun might try to take her out to take her position. Joonmyun covered her laugh with her hand.

“You will assist her in preparing meetings and work with her and Zitao to plan the calendar and budget.”

Joonmyun acknowledged that she understood with a smile and a nod before the advisor moved on to address Zitao about her responsibilities as treasurer.

Even though they weren’t her duties being outlined, Joonmyun took detailed notes anyway- clicking to another color on her multi-tipped pen.

As Sehun’s responsibilities as secretary were being listed. Joonmyun briefly glanced up from her notebook and saw that Baekhyun was taking notes as well. Surprised, Joonmyun missed the last bit of Sehun’s job description as she watched Baekhyun flip the paper over to begin scrawling on the back.

She’d expected to be the only one really invested in student council for what it was- not just so she could boast that it was lesbian only. But she supposed it made sense since Baekhyun had been on student council the year prior.

Sehun and Zitao, however, were definitely more concerned about feeling each other up under the table as the advisor started outlining Chanyeol’s job as the public relations director and Chanyeol frantically dug through her bag for a working pen.

With Sehun and Zitao more worried about each other and Chanyeol just happy to be a part of things, Joonmyun was grateful for Baekhyun’s seriousness regarding student council. She was relieved to see that she had a competent partner to work with.

Returning the smile Baekhyun sent her across the table, Joonmyun felt hopeful for the coming year.

 

\---

 

“I still can’t believe Zitao is treasurer,” Sehun snickered as they exited the classroom, folding her informational sheet and sliding it into the outer pocket of her backpack, “Of all people.”

“I will be a great treasurer,” Zitao sniffed, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

“Sure,” Sehun rolled her eyes fondly, “Let’s trust the money to the girl who bought three pairs of shoes last weekend.”

“They were on sale,” Zitao pouted, aiming a smack at Sehun’s shoulder, which she dodged with a giggle.

“Well, I’m off to volleyball,” Chanyeol announced, backpack only over one shoulder, “Peace~”

“Say hi to Kyungsoo for me,” Baekhyun told her teasingly, and Chanyeol laughed loudly- head tossed back.

“Kyungsoo doesn’t even like you that much,” she replied and Baekhyun made a face.

“Well, then tell her how much you want her face between your legs, I don’t care,” she scoffed.

“ _Shhhh_!” Chanyeol glared at Baekhyun with wide eyes, “I was just kidding, geez. Don’t say stuff like that so loud!”

“We’re the only ones in the hall,” Baekhyun laughed, “Hey everybody! Chanyeol wants to bone Ky-”

“ _Baekhyun_!” Chanyeol exclaimed, slapping a large hand over Baekhyun’s mouth- horrified. She kept it there until Baekhyun, apparently, licked her palm, and then she took her hand back with a grimace.

Baekhyun cackled as Chanyeol wiped her hand on her jeans in disgust before trying to grab Baekhyun’s hand with the threat to lick her back.

“Go to volleyball, you freak!” Baekhyun laughed breathlessly, darting away and dancing out of Chanyeol’s reach.

Chanyeol glanced at her watch and cursed.

“I’m late!” she yelled as she ran down the hall, backpack smacking against her hip with every step.

“We should get going too,” Zitao announced, fingers lacing with Sehun’s.

“Hot date?” Baekhyun asked with an unnecessary waggle of her brows.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Zitao sniped back, and Sehun stuck her tongue out as the pair walked away- probably to go make out somewhere as that seemed to be the pattern.

“Wanna walk home together?” Baekhyun asked, turning to Joonmyun as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“Sure,” Joonmyun agreed, surprised at the easy invitation.

Baekhyun beamed.

“You said you live in the direction of the train tracks, right?” she asked, and Joonmyun nodded, unable to remember why that had come up in the first place.

It was impressive that Baekhyun had remembered at all.

“So, it must be nice to see your hard work come into fruition,” Joonmyun commented as they headed out of the school. Now that it appeared she was on a semi-friendship basis with Baekhyun, she couldn’t help but want to know why she’d wanted to make the student council lesbian only.

She’d been assuming it was some ridiculous whim founded on narcissism, and maybe that was really all it was. But her curiosity wouldn’t rest until she’d heard it from Baekhyun herself.

“My hard work?” Baekhyun laughed, “I didn’t run for you.”

“Well, you kinda did…” Joonmyun ventured, “You slandered the only other person who had half a chance.”

“He slandered himself when he got piss drunk at that pep rally last year,” Baekhyun defended before she grinned, “You being qualified had nothing to do with me. Unless there was some pep rally incident I overlooked?”

Joonmyun chuckled, “No. No incidents regarding alcohol and pep rallies.”

“Good. See? You are obviously the right person for the job.”

“Didn’t hurt that I’m a lesbian, huh?” Joonmyun tried to joke, hoping that her digging wasn’t going to arouse suspicion.

She thought that she did a good job of masking how strange it felt to say that she was a lesbian with no sense of irony.

Baekhyun laughed, not appearing to suspect anything amiss.

“Nah, didn’t hurt,” she agreed.

“So...why did you want the student council to be only lesbians this year? If you don’t mind my asking,” Joonmyun asked, trying to look only casually interested.

Baekhyun looked at her strangely and Joonmyun barely held in her panic. She’d gone and ruined everything on the very first day just because she was nosy. Joonmyun wanted to smack herself in the face.

“You don’t know?”

“Um, I mean. Not, like, officially. You never said and the student body just treated it as a novelty so…” Joonmyun swallowed past her nerves as she waited for Baekhyun’s answer.

When she chanced a looked over at Baekhyun again, she looked thoughtful and not like she was about to call Joonmyun out for being a fraud. Joonmyun let out the breath she was holding.

“I just wanted to make a point, I guess,” she finally said, “I just- it started when I was trying to convince Chanyeol to run with me. I made some joke that if she and I both made it onto student council, the student government would be almost half openly gay, unlike any other government system that I know of. And got me thinking about how positive it could be. Like, it could set such a good example. What if there’s some freshman who’s afraid to come out? Having openly gay members of the student council could give them courage. And it could show everyone else that sexuality doesn’t have anything to do with anyone’s ability to be a leader.

“Then I started thinking, _what if the whole student council was gay_? Then, no one could ignore it. If the whole council was gay and did a good job, then it would prove a point to anyone who thinks that gay people are lesser human beings. You can’t argue with hard evidence. Well, I mean, you _can_ , but you’d sound like an idiot.

“So,” Baekhyun took a breath and shrugged, “I just decided to do it. I decided to see if I could make it so the whole council was made up of lesbians. Because that’d be even more of a smack in the face of tradition since women are so underrepresented in government. And it worked! I kind of still can’t believe it,” Baekhyun giggled, shaking her bangs out of her face and looking over at Joonmyun finally.

“Wow,” Joonmyun marveled. That hadn’t been what she’d been expecting at all. She’d assumed it was some dumb reason like Baekhyun just wanted her friends on student council with her. But, while Baekhyun’s reasoning had some flaws, Joonmyun had to acknowledge that the point that Baekhyun was trying to make was a valid one.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Baekhyun asked, nudging Joonmyun in the side playfully, but looking a little worried- like she thought that Joonmyun might tell her that her plan was stupid.

“I just...didn’t know any of that. That’s...impressive,” she told her honestly.

Baekhyun chuckled, dipping her head as her cheeks flushed- obviously pleased by the praise.

“Well, worked out for you, didn’t it?” she joked and Joonmyun laughed lightly, feeling her stomach twist uncomfortably.

Based on what Baekhyun had told her, if Baekhyun and the others found out that she was lying about her sexuality, they were going to be furious.

Smiling hollowly, Joonmyun promised herself she wouldn’t let that happen, no matter what.

 

\---

 

“How’s your double life going?” Minseok joked as they settled at one of the outdoor picnic tables in the school courtyard- Minseok pulling her slice of pizza toward her on its flimsy paper plate while Joonmyun pulled her packed lunch from her backpack.

Joonmyun shot her a look before answering, “It’s alright. First meeting was yesterday.”

“I know. That’s why I asked,” Minseok laughed, tightening her ponytail before picking up her pizza, “So, how was it?”

“It went surprisingly well,” Joonmyun told her, “I was expecting to be the only one who really cared, but Baekhyun seems really enthusiastic.”

“What about the others?” Minseok asked around a mouthful of food.

“Well, Zitao and Sehun seemed more interested in each other...they’re dating, did you know that?”

Minseok raised her eyebrows before she burst out laughing, “Are you saying you didn’t? Everyone knows they’re dating.”

Joonmyun frowned, “Apparently not everyone because I didn’t,” she huffed, “But anyway, Chanyeol seems excited, but I don’t think student government is really her thing.”

“Yeah, she’s really into volleyball, isn’t she?”

Joonmyun nodded, swallowing a bite of her sandwich, “Volleyball and also the volleyball captain.”

Minseok’s eyebrows shot up, “Kyungsoo? Is she even into girls?”

“I probably shouldn’t have said anything,” Joonmyun admitted, suddenly feeling a bit like shit for spilling Chanyeol’s secret so easily. She may not have known Chanyeol long, and it wasn’t like she’d been sworn to secrecy, but she’d have been upset if any of the council members had gone around and told people that she’d gone to third base with Kyuhyun.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Minseok assured her, “I don’t even know who I’d tell anyway.”

“You _do_ have classes with Kyungsoo,” Joonmyun pointed out, even though she knew that Minseok was telling the truth. She wasn’t exactly known for being a gossip. Besides, people who didn’t know Minseok well thought that she didn’t even talk save for when she was fulfilling her duty as the captain of the girl’s soccer team.

Minseok shot her a look, “ _Seriously_? You think I’d just go up to her and announce that Chanyeol likes her?”

Joonmyun sighed, “I know you wouldn’t.”

Minseok smiled, satisfied, “All secrets are safe with me.”

“Glad to hear it, because I have so many to tell you,” Lu Han, the captain of the boy’s soccer team and Minseok’s number one fan, interrupted, sliding onto the bench next to Minseok.

“Too bad. I don’t want to hear them,” Minseok deadpanned, mostly ignoring Lu han in favor of her lunch.

Lu Han pouted exaggeratedly despite the fact that Minseok wasn’t even looking at him.

“But most of them involve you,” he informed her, scooting in closer than was socially acceptable.

“Shocking,” Minseok replied sarcastically, and Lu Han tossed his head back and laughed in a way that made him look like a very unattractive dinosaur. Unfortunately for him, Minseok _did_ look over to witness that.

“Maybe I can tell you some of them after the game on Friday? We could go out for ice cream, and-”

“No thanks, I’m set,” Minseok cut him off, chewing on a bite of crust.

Lu Han grinned like he hadn’t just been shot down, putting a hand on her shoulder and leaning in to laugh like Minseok had made a joke that he was in on.

Minseok ignored him completely.

“One day, Minseok,” Lu Han said, squeezing her shoulder as he stood up, “One day you will stop fighting your overwhelming feelings for me and become one half of the most perfect couple this school has ever seen. I mean, captain of the girl’s soccer team and captain of the boy’s soccer team. Clearly meant to be.”

“Your delusions stopped being cute a while ago,” Minseok told him, but her lips quirked just ever so slightly at that.

Joonmyun suspected that Minseok didn’t hate Lu han’s attention quite as much as she let on. Not that she’d ever say that out loud. Minseok might have been soft spoken, but Joonmyun knew better than to get on her bad side.

“Your denial continues to be adorable,” he informed her with a grin and Minseok snorted, “See you later, Minseokkie.”

Minseok gave a half wave with a roll of her eyes before going back to her lunch.

“Bye, Joonmyun!” Lu Han added, and Joonmyun smiled and waved before Lu Han disappeared into the school.

“When do you think he’ll give up?” Minseok asked, but Joonmyun could hear the amusement in her voice.

Maybe Lu Han would be able to wear her down after all.

 

\---

 

“This is going to be so great,” Chanyeol gushed as they gathered their things from the classroom where they’d just wrapped up their meeting, “Best homecoming weekend ever.”

“Ever?” Zitao quirked a brow.

“The theme of the dance is going to be _A Whole New World_ ,” Chanyeol reminded her, as though she could have forgotten in the three minutes since it had last been discussed, “Anything involving a Disney reference is bound to be a success.”

“I’m excited too,” Baekhyun added, “But aside from the posters, the theme doesn’t really affect much. I mean, we can’t exactly have everyone come dressed as their favorite character from _Aladdin_.”

“Wouldn’t that be cool though?” Chanyeol pressed and Zitao responded with an immediate and emphatic _no_.

When Chanyeol pouted at her, she explained, “The best part about school dances is going dress shopping. I do not want to wear harem pants, thank you.”

“Oh! That reminds me,” Baekhyun said, “Do you guys want to go dress shopping together? Chanyeol and I shopped together last year and it was really fun.”

“Sure,” Sehun agreed, “Zitao and I wanted to go together, but we couldn’t figure out how to do that without seeing each other’s dresses before the dance.”

“It’s not a wedding,” Baekhyun snorted.

“We want them to be a surprise,” Sehun whined, and Joonmyun patted her shoulder comfortingly.

“Which will be easier to do with three buffers,” Zitao said, “We’re in.”

Chanyeol clapped in excitement even as Baekhyun rolled her eyes and complained about how they were going to end up spending the whole day tending to Sehun’s and Zitao’s needs.

“Joonmyun? Will you come too?” Sehun asked, looking hopeful.

Joonmyun still was surprised when she found that the other girls really did want to have her around. It was inclusion that she hadn’t expected at all.

However, she hadn’t really given much thought to actually going to the dance. Since she’d broken up with Kyuhyun, she figured that she wouldn’t be going. But considering she was helping to plan it, it probably would be kind of weird for her not to attend.

“You guys are all going to the dance?” she asked, feeling kind of stupid when Zitao shot her a _duh_ look.

“We’re going together,” Sehun told her, arm looped with Zitao’s as they loitered in the empty hall.

That much, she’d figured.

“How about you guys?” she asked, turning to Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“We’re both going!” Chanyeol informed her with a grin.

“Not together,” Baekhyun clarified.

“With dates or….?”

Baekhyun snorted, “There aren’t really many date options in high school for lesbians.”

“Last year we both went with guys as friends,” Chanyeol explained, “But this year we thought we’d just go solo and hang out.”

“You’re welcome to hang with us,” Baekhyun offered with a grin, “Although I fear much of the night is going to be us dealing with these two,” she gestured to Zitao and Sehun, “being all over each other.”

“Hey,” Sehun complained, “We’re not that bad in public.”

Chanyeol laughed and thumped Zitao on the back, grin not dimming in the slightest even when Zitao turned to scowl at her.

Joonmyun had never gone to a formal dance without a date before, but sounded kind of fun.

“You in?” Baekhyun asked, poking her in the side and wiggling her eyebrows.

Joonmyun laughed, “Sure.”

“Awesome!” Baekhyun clapped her hands once, “Dress shopping next weekend?”

“We’ll be there,” Zitao said as Chanyeol gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Sounds good,” Joonmyun agreed and earned smiles from the whole group.

“Volleyball!” Chanyeol suddenly exclaimed, turning and hurrying down the hall, “See you!”

“Idiot,” Baekhyun chuckled fondly before saying goodbye to Zitao and Sehun and motioning for Joonmyun to follow her so they could walk home together.

So far, student council hadn’t been at all what she’d expected. She hadn’t actually expected to become friends with the other girls, for one. But in all honesty, the whole experience was better than she could have imagined.

Though she couldn’t stop the little voice in the back of her head that wondered if they’d be being so nice to her if they knew that she’d lied.

 

\---

 

“So, I guess I’m going to homecoming?” Joonmyun summarized the following morning at Minseok’s locker.

“Well, you _are_ planning it, so aren’t you like, required to go?” Minseok pointed out, dumping her history textbook into her locker with a metallic thud and grabbing her stats book from the pile.

“I’m required to help set up,” she told her, “I think I’m allowed to leave after that? But that’d be a little weird…”

Minseok laughed, “Yeah, it’d be pretty anticlimactic. But, it’s cool you guys are just gonna go together. It sounds like it’ll be fun.”

“Do you know what you’re gonna do?” Joonmyun asked.

Every year, she and Minseok had gone in the same group, albeit with dates, so this would be the first year their homecoming plans wouldn’t include each other. Joonmyun knew that Minseok wasn’t the type to get huffy over stuff like that, but she still hoped that she wasn’t leaving her high and dry.

“Not going,” Minseok said easily with a shrug.

“What?”

“Lu Han asked me last week and I told him no. I can’t go with someone else now, so I’m just not going.”

Joonmyun raised her eyebrows in surprise, “Would it really be so bad to go with him? You could just go as friends. Is it worth not going at all?”

“He’s insufferable enough as it is,” Minseok reminded her, “Can you imagine how bad he’d be if I actually agreed to go with him?”

Joonmyun still didn’t see what was so bad about going with him. She didn’t understand their dynamic at all. Unless…

“Wait,” she said, “Is this because you like someone else? Is it Yixing?”

Yixing was the college freshman who worked with Minseok at the cafe where she worked part time. He was always offering to cover her shifts when she had a lot of homework, and apparently he even played guitar for her after they’d closed one day.

Minseok let out a loud bark of laughter, “Are you kidding? _Please_.”

Joonmyun shrugged. The assumption seemed pretty reasonable to her. But Minseok’s reaction to boys fawning over her wasn’t typical.

Not that Joonmyun was one to talk. She wasn’t the type to go all weak-kneed for romance. Even when she and Kyuhyun had just started dating, she hadn’t gotten all giddy like a lot of girls did when they got a boyfriend.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us? I’m sure the others wouldn’t mind. That way, it’s not like you’re going with someone else…” she offered.

“Nah,” Minseok waved her off, “I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your new lesbian lifestyle,” she teased with a grin and Joonmyun laughed around a groan.

“Shut _up_.”

Minseok chuckled and cuffed her playfully on the shoulder.

“Are you gonna make jokes about this the whole year?” Joonmyun asked, jutting out her lower lip in a pout that she knew Minseok wouldn’t be moved by.

“Yep,” Minseok told her with a grin and Joonmyun sighed.

“Well, anyway, let me know if you change your mind.”

“Thanks, bro, but I’m set,” Minseok told her with a quirk of her lips, “See you at lunch?”

Joonmyun laughed and agreed.

Maybe their indifference toward normal teenage things was why they were such good friends. But either way, Joonmyun was grateful for such a great best friend. Even though it didn’t seem like the fake lesbian jokes were going to end anytime soon.

 

\---

 

“Don’t look at what I have!” Sehun nearly shrieked, holding the dresses she was carrying behind her back as Zitao came around the corner of the rack she was browsing.

“Not looking!” Zitao assured her, making a show of covering her eyes.

“Hey, aren’t you trying anything on?” Sehun asked, noticing Zitao’s empty hands.

“The sales girl just took them to start a dressing room for me,” Zitao told her with a grin, “You’re gonna have the hottest date.”

“Obviously,” Sehun agreed, “But go away so I can keep shopping.”

Zitao laughed and pressed a quick kiss to Sehun’s lips before she left her with a little finger waggle- Sehun’s cheeks blooming pink even as she tried to appear unaffected as she continued browsing the rack of dresses.

As much as Joonmyun didn’t consider herself a romantic at all, she had to admit that the two of them were pretty cute.

“Any luck?” Baekhyun asked, coming up next to Joonmyun and hip checking her as she examined an emerald green dress.

“I found a few possibilities,” Joonmyun told her, holding up her selections for Baekhyun to see.

“Looking good,” Baekhyun grinned, “I’m heading into the dressing room now. Chanyeol’s already in there.”

“I was just thinking of doing that myself,” Joonmyun confessed.

“Perfect!” Baekhyun beamed, grabbing Joonmyun by the hand and pulling her in the direction of the fitting rooms.

“What do you think?” Chanyeol asked when they got into the dressing room area.

She was standing in front of the three paneled mirror at the end of the hall of doors in a giant red ball gown with rhinestones embellishing the bodice.

“It’s...sparkly,” Baekhyun commented, and Chanyeol nodded enthusiastically.

“I’m gonna go put on another one,” she told them, “Let me know when you guys have a dress on so I can see!”

“I’m in here too!” Zitao yelled from behind one of the closed doors.

“Thanks for the update!” Baekhyun called back and Zitao mumbled out something derisive as Baekhyun snickered.

Joonmyun liked shopping well enough, but this was definitely more fun than she’d had going homecoming dress shopping with her mother last year.

By the time Sehun had finished choosing dresses to try and all five of them were in the dressing rooms, it was pandamonium. Joonmyun felt bad for the other shoppers since they were constantly calling out to each other from their respective dressing rooms and hogging the big mirror, but it was hard to feel too bad since she was having so much fun.

“Sehun, are you in your dressing room?” Zitao yelled when Joonmyun and Baekhyun were giving their opinions on the bedazzled yellow cupcake dress that Chanyeol was in.

“Yeah,” Sehun loudly replied.

“I’m coming out now, so stay in there until I’m done, okay?”

“Okay!”

“I think this one might be it,” Zitao announced as she stepped out of her fitting room- Joonmyun, Baekhyun, and Chanyeol all turning to see what she was wearing.

“Whoa,” Chanyeol said.

“ _Damn_ ,” was Baekhyun’s contribution.

“You look beautiful, Zitao,” Joonmyun told her. Because she really, really did.

Zitao grinned as she stepped up to the mirror, turning from side to side to admire herself in the floor length, silky red dress that she had on. The neckline was low, and the dress could only be described as _slinky_. Zitao pulled it off better than nearly anyone would have been able to, Joonmyun thought.

On most high school girls, it would have looked like they were playing dress up- trying too hard to be sexy and sophisticated. But the dress looked like it had been made for Zitao and the effect was an effortless glamor that Joonmyun didn’t even expect to have at twenty-five.

“This is it,” Zitao proclaimed, turning to the side and checking out her butt.

“I’ll say,” Baekhyun marveled, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall as she watched Zitao preen in front of the mirror.

“Seriously, you should wear that everyday,” Chanyeol told her, still looking at her with wide eyes.

“It’s stunning,” Joonmyun agreed, and Zitao positively glowed under the praise.

“I wanna see!” Sehun whined, and apparently she was serious because suddenly, her door handle turned and she emerged from her dressing room in a half unzipped dress.

Zitao screamed and dove behind Chanyeol whose height and puffy dress successfully hid her from sight.

“Sehun!” Baekhyun chided, “Wasn’t the whole point of all of this so you _wouldn’t_ see Zitao’s dress and she wouldn’t see yours?”

“Moment of weakness,” Sehun mumbled and slunk back into her dressing room.

“I’m gonna go change and buy this before Sehun tries cheating again,” Zitao announced, loud enough for Sehun to hear.

“If you didn’t want me to look, then you all shouldn’t have been ooh-ing and aah-ing so much!” Sehun complained defensively.

Zitao just laughed as she left to change out of the dress, and Baekhyun teased Sehun for her lack of self-control.

After another hour of scouring the racks and trying on heaps of dresses (and Baekhyun and Zitao constantly exclaiming over how nice Zitao’s dress was, just to annoy Sehun), all of them successfully found something to wear to homecoming.

And though Joonmyun was happy with the dress she’d chosen, the experience of shopping with the other girls far outweighed the resulting purchase.

 

\---

 

Their meetings over the next few weeks revolved around homecoming- the game, the dance, the parade, the pep rally. There was a lot of planning to be done, but Joonmyun didn’t mind the work. She thrived in situations like that- eager to plan and organize and deal with any problems that arose.

With Joonmyun’s ability to work under pressure and Baekhyun’s experience from the year prior, as well as help from the other three, things went pretty smoothly.

Before Joonmyun knew it, it was homecoming weekend and they were running around the gym, making last minute adjustments before the pep rally was set to start.

It would be their first big event, so there was a lot riding on it. If they screwed up, it would appear as though they were incompetent.

Naturally, Joonmyun wanted to do a good job so she could cite grand success in her college applications, but Baekhyun was even more desperate for everything to go as planned. If they failed, then there would be nothing to stop anyone from making comments that women weren’t capable of running the school council- that _lesbians_ were unfit for such positions.

So, even though Joonmyun wanted success for herself, she found herself triple checking when she might have normally just double checked because she knew how much this meant to Baekhyun.

When the science teacher, who typically was the MC for school events, was finally announcing the start of the pep rally to a gymnasium full of cheering students, Joonmyun looked over at Baekhyun and caught her eye- sharing a smile.

“Good job,” Joonmyun whispered in her ear, and Baekhyun’s already satisfied smile grew even bigger.

“You too,” she whispered back and held her hand out for a high-five.

Joonmyun smacked her palm and grinned, feeling joy, relief, and fondness mixing in her chest. They still had all of Saturday’s activities to worry about, but the proof that they were capable was enough to replace her nerves with anticipation.

They’d be able to pull off whatever was thrown at them. They made a damn good team.

 

\---

 

Aside from the fact that their football team spectacularly lost their game, Saturday’s activities went off without a hitch. And it hadn’t taken them as long to help decorate the gymnasium for the dance as they’d expected. Which was good because Zitao was threatening to leave by 5 o’clock at the latest to get ready for the dance.

So, at 4:45, they’d parted ways and planned to meet again at Baekhyun’s house at 6:30 to take pictures.

When they arrived back at the gymnasium at 7:30, Joonmyun had to admit that it looked good. For a school dance, anyway.

They’d gone with deep purples, aquas, and golds for the color scheme, and there were golden colored fairy lights around the perimeter of the room. All of the attendees’ names had been written on cardboard that had been cut into the shape of magic lamps, and they’d stuck them on all of the walls with masking tape. The lights were dim, the DJ was playing something by Lady Gaga, and Joonmyun couldn’t help the swell of pride that resulted from seeing their hard work pay off.

“Chanyeol, you were right,” Baekhyun said, “This is the best homecoming ever.”

Chanyeol beamed, “Well, then let’s go dance!”

“Ew, are we in a teen rom com?” Zitao asked, following Chanyeol onto the dance floor anyway.

“I don’t know why that would be a problem for you considering you are a self-proclaimed romantic,” Baekhyun pointed out.

“I’m a romantic, not a cliche,” Zitao clarified, and Baekhyun raised a brow, but didn’t argue.

“I would just like to say that we are the most attractive homecoming group,” Baekhyun proclaimed, looking around the gym.

“ _Duh_ ,” Sehun agreed, shooting yet another appreciative look at her girlfriend.

When she’d finally seen Zitao’s dress at their picture party earlier in the evening, she’d been slack-jawed. And as Baekhyun had said, for someone who had seen Zitao in a variety of ensembles as well as in nothing at all, her level of awe was pretty impressive. But Zitao’s dress really was a show stopper.

Sehun had ended up in a cocktail length halter dress in lavender with dark purple and seafoam polka dots, her pink hair styled in a spiky up-do, and her long bangs straightened and brushing her eyelashes. She might not have looked as red carpet ready as Zitao (no one did, to be fair), but Joonmyun thought she looked really nice, and Zitao had lavished her with compliments as soon as Sehun had managed to pick her chin up off the floor.

Joonmyun, herself, was in a simple navy dress that nearly reached the floor. Her hair was pulled back in a french twist and she’d accessorized with delicate gold jewelry.

Somehow, Chanyeol ended up dressed the most lavishly out of all of them. Baekhyun had conspiratorially whispered to Joonmyun that, since Chanyeol was a tomboy, she didn’t really know how to dress up, but that clearly didn’t mean she didn’t have fun with it.

Her light blue dress had a poufy skirt, ruching at the waist, and rhinestones and sequins sewn onto the bodice. Her hair was piled on top of her head in an ornate up-do that she’d gotten done at the fancy salon where her mother got her hair cut, and she’d had her nails done as well with little rhinestones glued onto the tips. Though she’d already managed to chip a nail before they’d even gotten to the dance.

There had been some light ribbing about how tall her hair was, but Joonmyun liked how enthusiastic Chanyeol was about everything she did. And she thought that enthusiasm was perfectly reflected in Chanyeol’s ostentatious ensemble.

It was also evident in the way she was currently dancing- throwing her limbs around without regard to how she looked.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” Baekhyun asked Joonmyun, stepping up to her so she could be easily heard above the music.

“I don’t really dance,” Joonmyun explained with a chuckle, and Baekhyun gave her a look.

“You think Chanyeol does?”

“Well, she clearly _does_ ,” Joonmyun said, “Maybe she’s not the most skilled. But apparently she does dance.”

Baekhyun sighed at her and shot her another judging look.

“With all those limbs,” she started, referring to Chanyeol again, “No one is even going to notice if you look like an idiot. Trust me.”

Joonmyun laughed and allowed Baekhyun to pull her closer to where Chanyeol, Zitao, and Sehun were dancing.

Grabbing both of her hands, Baekhyun started dancing- swinging Joonmyun’s arms exaggeratedly until Joonmyun followed suit and started dancing too.

Baekhyun grinned, laughing as she spun Joonmyun around and pretended to dip her.

Lit by the fairy lights and looking so happy, Joonmyun couldn’t help but appreciate how pretty Baekhyun really was.

Her chin length, brown hair had been loosely curled and half pinned up, so it framed her face with delicate waves. She was in a cocktail length, strapless maroon dress made of taffeta with a poufy skirt. Her shimmery eyeshadow twinkled in the low lighting, and her teeth glinted when she smiled- dark lipstick making them look even whiter than usual.

Previously, she hadn’t understood why Baekhyun was so well-liked among their fellow students. Not that she’d had anything against her, but she hadn’t been able to figure out what was so special.

But there was just something about Baekhyun that drew people in- her smile both mischievous and cute at the same time, and her wit biting, but undeniably funny. It was difficult not to get caught up in her jokes and laughter and playful touches.

Joonmyun wondered how many of the boys at their school wished that she wasn’t gay so they could ask her out. She wondered if there were girls who were still in the closet who had secret crushes on Baekhyun.

And in that moment, she couldn’t help but feel a burst of warmth in her chest that, of all the people in their school, Baekhyun was dancing with _her_.

 

\---

 

It was when they were doing a lap of the dancefloor to say hi to friends and take selfies with them (as was tradition in all high schools in North America) that Joonmyun saw Kyuhyun.

Sure, she’d seen him in the halls at school, wherein she would try to shoot him a friendly smile and he ignored her, but Joonmyun had been worried about what it would be like to see him at the dance with another girl.

She’d heard through the grapevine that he’d asked that leggy girl, Zhou Mi, to homecoming, and she’d been afraid that seeing them together was going to fill her with regret for breaking up with Kyuhyun. Even Minseok, who was the least dramatic person Joonmyun knew, had asked if she was okay after the news had broken.

But surprisingly, Joonmyun didn’t feel anything seeing them together.

She felt like she should have been upset to see her ex slow dancing with some girl- laughing at something she’d said as he held her close and smiling at her fondly like he used to smile at Joonmyun.

And yet...she was entirely indifferent.

“Hey,” Chanyeol said uncharacteristically softly, nudging Joonmyun in the side gently when she saw what Joonmyun was looking at, “Are you okay? It must be pretty weird seeing him with someone else so soon.”

Joonmyun shook her head and shot Chanyeol a smile, “I’m fine. _I_ broke up with _him_ , remember?”

Chanyeol didn’t look convinced.

“Honestly, I thought it would be weird, but I feel okay about it. Really.”

Joonmyun was actually a little concerned about the fact that she was so okay with it. What was the matter with her? It wasn’t normal to not even care a little about her ex with another girl only a month and a half after they’d broken up. _Especially_ since she’d only broken up with him to strengthen her lie that she was a lesbian. But no matter how hard she stared at Kyuhyun and Zhou Mi, she couldn’t muster up any sort of emotion.

Admittedly, that was better than being distraught over it.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” Chanyeol told her with a smile, throwing a long arm over her shoulders, “But I’m here to listen if you’re ever _not_ fine.”

Joonmyun returned the smile, touched by Chanyeol’s concern.

“Thank you. That means a lot,” she told her, reaching up to squeeze Chanyeol’s hand, “We should probably go find everyone else though before they think we got swallowed by the mob of slow dancers.”

“I’m pretty sure Zitao and Sehun snuck off to make out or something,” Chanyeol told her and Joonmyun snorted, “And Baek is right over there talking to Jongdae.”

Joonmyun turned to see Baekhyun cracking up about something and shoving Jongdae, a fellow senior whom she knew from a variety of honors classes that she’d taken over the years, playfully on the shoulder.

“Oh, I didn’t know they were friends,” Joonmyun said as she watched Baekhyun lean into Jongdae’s space to take a picture with him on her phone.

“Yeah! They know each other from choir,” Chanyeol explained, “Jongdae is the guy Baekhyun went to homecoming with last year.”

Joonmyun didn’t know why she hadn’t thought to ask whom Baekhyun had gone with before.

“Who’s his date this year?” Joonmyun asked even though she wasn’t sure why she cared.

“He’s dating a girl who graduated last year, so I think he just came with friends since she’s in college.”

Joonmyun nodded and smiled when she caught Baekhyun’s eye.

Baekhyun immediately bid Jongdae goodbye and came over to join them.

“Hey,” she said brightly when she made it over to them, “Is the happy couple still off somewhere slobbering all over each other?”

Joonmyun laughed and Baekhyun looked pleased with herself.

“Yeah, I think so,” Chanyeol answered, using her height advantage to look around and over people’s heads.

“Let’s go back to where we were dancing before so they can find us when they’re done,” Baekhyun suggested, grabbing Joonmyun’s hand and leading her in that direction.

Until they realized that Chanyeol wasn’t following them. Instead, she was staring into the mass of dancing bodies and pouting.

Walking back over to see what she was doing, Joonmyun and Baekhyun saw what it was that she was staring at.

About twenty feet away, Kyungsoo was dancing with her date- a boy named Ryeowook whom Joonmyun barely knew.

“Are they dating?” Joonmyun wondered out loud and then immediately hated herself when she saw the way Chanyeol’s shoulders stiffened.

“No,” Baekhyun quickly answered, “No, they’re not dating.”

“Are you sure?” Chanyeol asked, sounding so upset that Joonmyun, despite not being an incredibly touchy feely person, found herself putting a comforting arm around Chanyeol’s waist without thinking.

“Yes,” Baekhyun said confidently, “Jongdae sits next to Ryeowook in choir. I’m sure he would have mentioned something to me about that if they were. They’re just friends.”

Chanyeol didn’t look convinced. Especially when Ryeowook leaned in to whisper something in Kyungsoo’s ear and Kyungsoo laughed happily- lips pulling up into a genuine smile that was rare to see on her.

“Seriously, Yeol,” Baekhyun insisted, moving to stand on Chanyeol’s other side and to playfully pull on her arm, “They’re not dating. I kinda doubt he’s any more into girls than I am boys, if you know what I mean…”

“You don’t know that,” Chanyeol said morosely, looking completely dejected and heartbroken when another slow song started and Kyungsoo immediately put her arms around Ryeowook’s neck to get into the traditional slow dance position.

“I don’t know for sure,” Baekhyun admitted, “But it’s my suspicion. And I’m always right, right?”

Chanyeol snorted at that and Baekhyun grinned.

“Come on, let’s go find Zitao and Sehun.”

Chanyeol allowed Baekhyun to pull her away from staring at her longtime crush and her allegedly gay (according to Baekhyun) homecoming date.

 

\---

 

Zitao and Sehun wandered back over to them after another fifteen minutes with slightly mussed hair and freshly applied lipstick.

“I can’t imagine what you two could have been up to,” Baekhyun said dryly, and Sehun giggled while Zitao looked smug.

While they’d been waiting for Zitao and Sehun to come back from whatever dark corner they’d found, Baekhyun had been doing her most ridiculous dance moves to cheer Chanyeol up- even using Joonmyun as a prop for some of her moves. Joonmyun had felt herself flushing when Baekhyun had briefly used her as a stripper pole, but it had made Chanyeol laugh, so that was all that mattered.

Joonmyun couldn’t help but smile as she’d watched Baekhyun work to make sure that Chanyeol was having fun despite the fact that Kyungsoo was here with a guy.

By the time Zitao and Sehun had returned, all three of them had been enthusiastically dancing to _Fancy_ while Baekhyun did a surprisingly admirable job of rapping along.

Sehun and Zitao joined them, and at one point, Sehun got a bit giddy and bounced over to Chanyeol- grabbing her hands and instigating a very messy couple dance that had Chanyeol laughing and Sehun nearly doubling over as she giggled.

Joonmyun watched as Baekhyun hip checked Zitao only for Zitao to return the favor and almost accidentally knock Baekhyun over since she was so much shorter. Zitao grabbed Baekhyun’s arm and apologized, laughing when Baekhyun playfully smacked her on the shoulder.

And throughout it all, Joonmyun was dancing- uncaring of the fact that she really _couldn’t_ dance.

She had to admit, this was the most fun she’d ever had at a formal dance- no date, hanging out with a group of lesbians. Who knew?

 

\---

 

“I’m so excited!” Chanyeol trilled, bouncing as she waited for Zitao and Sehun to gather their things, “I can’t believe the faculty okay’ed it!”

“Well, they don’t know your ulterior motives,” Baekhyun teased, making a lewd motion with her fingers.

“Hey!” Chanyeol complained, “My motives are what I pitched today! Building excitement about the women’s volleyball team at our school, making connections with teams from other schools, encouraging teamwork and good sportsmanship-”

“Getting into Kyungsoo’s pants…” Baekhyun interjected.

“How is an all-day volleyball tournament going to help me get into Kyungsoo’s pants?” Chanyeol argued, “I mean, I think she’ll be excited about it, since she’s the volleyball captain, but my intentions are volleyball related! I’m the co-captain, after all.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Zitao snorted, slinging her purse over her shoulder.

Chanyeol pouted, and Joonmyun patted her on the arm.

But it didn’t take long for Chanyeol to perk back up. After all, she had found out (via Baekhyun not-at-all subtly asking Jongdae) that Kyungsoo and Ryeowook weren’t dating just before the meeting. That and the go ahead to organize a special volleyball tournament were more than enough to put a spring in her step.

“Well, I should probably go to volleyball now…” Chanyeol said, trying not to look too eager and failing.

“Gonna go tell Kyungsoo, then?” Sehun asked with a playful smirk.

“Since she’s the captain, she should know as soon as possible to make preparations…”

Baekhyun sighed exaggeratedly, “Just go. Go tell Kyungsoo.”

Chanyeol stuck her tongue out, but left them with a wave and a smile, half-jogging down the hall in her excitement.

“Are Kyungsoo and Ryeowook _really_ not dating?” Sehun wanted to know as soon as Chanyeol was out of earshot.

“Of course they’re not! What do you take me for?” Baekhyun demanded, laughing even as she defended herself.

“I just thought that maybe you told Chanyeol that so she wouldn’t be so sad,” Sehun explained.

“If I lied, I think she’d find out pretty quickly considering she sees Kyungsoo every day and Kyungsoo having a boyfriend would have to come up at some point,” Baekhyun told her, hooking arms with Joonmyun as they made their way out of the school, “Besides, I’m _telling_ you- Ryeowook doesn’t like the ladies!”

“Are you still on that?” Zitao complained.

“I swear. You guys. At our ten year high school reunion, he will show up with a very nice young man. It’s gonna happen.”

Zitao snorted, but let it drop, even if she had her doubts about Baekhyun’s theories.

Baekhyun and Joonmyun split off from Zitao and Sehun, who were discussing whose house they would get more privacy at.

“They act like the idea of him being gay is so far-fetched,” Joonmyun mused, “Which is weird since _they’re_ both gay. Usually, it’s straight people who can’t fathom the idea of someone being gay.”

“I think they still feel like they’re playing pretend,” Baekhyun told her thoughtfully, “Not that their sexuality or their feelings for each other aren’t real. And don’t ever tell them I said this, but they are really sweet together. But since we’re in this small town where we’re pretty much the only openly gay people we know, it can seem a little unreal.”

“I never thought about it like that,” Joonmyun admitted, scuffing the heels of her keds against the curb as they waited to cross the street.

The leaves were starting to turn and Joonmyun could smell a wood burning fire somewhere nearby. The fall made Joonmyun feel nostalgic for some reason- taken back to trick or treating with her parents as a child.

“You just came out, so it’s all new to you,” Baekhyun said, and Joonmyun felt sick with guilt, “It must still seem really surreal to you.”

Joonmyun hummed in lieu of saying anything. Maybe if she didn’t actually say anything, it wasn’t as bad.

“I still kind of feel like the last unicorn,” Baekhyun told her, laughing, “Obviously, I know I’m not the only one, but sometimes I feel like homosexuality is something I made up. Like I might as well be telling people I’m a wizard, or something.”

“It’s not made up,” Joonmyun assured her, even though Baekhyun had just said that she knew, “I’m sure that once you get to college, you’ll meet tons of other people who aren’t straight and it won’t feel like that.”

Baekhyun smiled at her, cheeks pink from the chill in the October air.

“I hope so,” she said, lacing her fingers with Joonmyun’s for the remaining two blocks of their walk. And Baekhyun’s thin, cold fingers made Joonmyun feel warmer than the scarf around her neck.

 

\---

 

“Do you want Cheetos or Doritos?” Baekhyun asked, handing off a six-pack of soda to Joonmyun as she dug around in a kitchen cabinet.

“Um,” Joonmyun said, not at ease enough in Baekhyun’s house to make snack demands.

For all the times Joonmyun and Baekhyun had walked home together, they’d never actually hung out outside of student council meetings and activities. But it was undeniable that they were legitimate friends, by that point, so it made sense that Baekhyun had invited Joonmyun to her house to watch a movie that weekend.

“You’re right,” Baekhyun replied, as though Joonmyun had actually answered, “Both.”

Arms laden with junk food, Baekhyun led Joonmyun down the stairs to a finished basement, depositing her armful on the coffee table and motioning for Joonmyun to do the same.

When Joonmyun had asked where Chanyeol was that night, Baekhyun had informed her that Chanyeol had apparently “conned” (Baekhyun’s word choice) Kyungsoo into helping her with her serve. So it was just the two of them.

Joonmyun had a sudden thought.

“Wait, your parents know you like girls, right?” she asked out of nowhere and felt stupid when Baekhyun looked up at her, surprised.

“Yeah...?” she laughed, eyebrows raised are she waited for Joonmyun to expound.

“Are your parents gonna think we’re…” she widened her eyes for emphasis, “ _doing stuff_?”

Baekhyun burst out into laughter before she looked to Joonmyun with a grin and an exaggerated waggle of her eyebrows.

“Why? Is that what you think we’re going to be doing?” she teased, doing a very unattractive and awkward shimmy that had Joonmyun snorting and shoving at Baekhyun’s shoulder to get her to stop.

She rolled her eyes fondly as Baekhyun cackled and dropped onto the couch, smacking the space next to her harder than was necessary.

“So, what movie are we watching?” Joonmyun asked, sitting down next to Baekhyun and leaning back into the squishy cushions.

“Well, we have a couple of options,” Baekhyun told her, leaning forward and snagging a couple of DVD cases from the coffee table, “We have an action movie, a rom-com, and a horror movie that will have you holding on to me in terror.”

Baekhyun fluttered her eyelashes while making the horror dvd dance tauntingly in front of Joonmyun’s face.

Joonmyun scoffed, “I will not be holding on to you in terror. If anything, it’ll be the other way around.”

“Wanna bet?” Baekhyun asked with a grin.

“Yes,” Joonmyun immediately replied, grinning back. She wasn’t sure why she was behaving like she was a pro at horror movies. She usually avoided them entirely.

Baekhyun seemed to falter a bit at Joonmyun’s (false) confidence, but she quickly puffed herself back up.

“Alright, you’re on,” she agreed, holding out her hand to shake.

“What are we betting?” Joonmyun asked, and Baekhyun frowned.

“I dunno,” she shrugged, “We can decide later.”

“I’m not betting when I don’t know the stakes,” Joonmyun informed her seriously, and Baekhyun sighed and flopped back on the couch like Joonmyun had wounded her.

“You need to loosen up,” she told her, pushing at Joonmyun’s thigh with her feet until Joonmyun shoved her away with a laugh.

“Alright, alright,” she relented, “we can figure out the wager later.”

Baekhyun did a victory fist pump.

“But nothing weird!” Joonmyun warned, and Baekhyun merely raised her eyebrows.

“Of _course_ it’ll be weird,” she laughed, getting up to put the DVD in, “So, if you’re worried, just don’t get scared during the movie.”

Joonmyun shot her an unimpressed look, “I won’t.”

“Alright,” Baekhyun sing-songed, plopping back down next to Joonmyun and draping her legs over Joonmyun’s lap.

The title screen came up and Joonmyun snorted.

“ _I’ll_ Always _Know What You Did Last Summer_?” she read, “Why do you own this?”

Baekhyun pouted, “I have the first two, so I wanted to have the whole set. And it was cheap.”

“The first two weren’t even good though,” Joonmyun argued, and Baekhyun took her legs back as she sat up straight to glare at Joonmyun.

“Whoa,” she said, “ _Whoa_. The first two are _classics_!”

“Says who?” Joonmyun challenged, unable to keep herself from laughing at Baekhyun’s scandalized face.

“Anyone who likes 90’s horror!”

“I see,” she chuckled, shaking her head and enjoying how annoyed Baekhyun was getting, “Don’t tell me you like the _Scream_ franchise too.”

“Those are meant to be ridiculous!” Baekhyun shrieked, “They’re _parodies_ of modern horror! And then _Scary Movie_ parodied a parody and I lost faith in humanity.”

“You sure have opinions about this,” Joonmyun laughed, and Baekhyun scowled.

“If you diss _Scream_ again, I’m kicking you out,” she threatened, looking about as menacing as a puppy showing its teeth. And just as cute.

Joonmyun grinned, resisting the urge to bop Baekhyun on the nose.

“Alright, I surrender,” she said, holding up her hands, “You are obviously the expert.”

Baekhyun nodded decisively, placated.

“Ready to watch?” she asked, picking up the remote and aiming it at the TV.

“Ready,” Joonmyun confirmed, patting Baekhyun’s thigh as a peace offering.

“Remember,” Baekhyun warned with what was probably supposed to be a threatening grin, “If you have to hold onto me during the movie…”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Joonmyun told her, and Baekhyun pressed _play_ \- humming ominously.

 

\---

 

“ _Why_ do you _own_ that?” Joonmyun asked again when the credits started rolling.

Baekhyun was slack-jawed, “I don’t know. That was horrible! And not even _good_ horrible like _I_ Still _Know What You Did Last Summer_. That was just… _bad_.”

Joonmyun nodded in agreement.

“It was just some...weird supernatural skeleton thing? _Seriously_? That negated any plot this could have possibly had!” she exclaimed, “Like, they couldn’t even think of an ending, so they just decided to be like, _Oh, it was a skeleton all along. That’ll explain it!_ Is that always an option in movies? Like, what was the deal with Bruce Willis in the _Sixth Sense_? Oh! He was just a _skeleton thing_ the whole time! So he never even got killed in the first place! And Regina George didn’t die when she got hit by that bus because she was a _skeleton thing_! Of course!”

Joonmyun tried to swallow the laughter that was swelling in her chest at Baekhyun’s passionate rant. She never knew that anyone cared so much about dumb slasher movies.

“It was really bad,” Joonmyun agreed.

“It was _so_ bad!”

“I mean, didn’t you kind of know it was gonna be bad when the guy got impaled at the amusement park at the beginning?”

“I held out hope,” Baekhyun said morosely, flopping into Joonmyun’s side dramatically.

Joonmyun snorted. “Well, I guess neither of us lost the bet.”

“Oh yeah,” Baekhyun sat up, “I forgot about the bet in the throes of how awful that was.”

She looked thoughtful for a minute before she collapsed back against Joonmyun and made herself comfortable.

“At least we don’t have to come up with a punishment now,” she said, and Joonmyun laughed, “Maybe next time.”

Joonmyun still wasn’t eager to make a bet with Baekhyun when who knew what Baekhyun could come up with if she won? But the idea of a next time made her smile, nonetheless.

 

\---

 

“Who trusted me to announce sports things?” Baekhyun asked, flipping through the notes on her clipboard.

“You’re literally just announcing the teams at the beginning of each match,” Chanyeol reminded her, looking a little alarmed at Baekhyun’s distress over such a simple task.

“Sports, though,” Baekhyun argued.

Chanyeol shrugged, “Better you than Sehun or Zitao.”

“This is true,” Baekhyun conceded, glancing around the gymnasium crowded with volleyball players from six other schools in the area to look for the aforementioned pair.

She finally spotted them and Joonmyun followed her gaze to see the two standing awkwardly to the side with their heads bent together as they whispered about something. Probably about the legs of the visiting volleyball players or how they’d once fucked under the bleachers or something.

“Yeah, they’d be a bad choice,” Baekhyun reiterated, “But that doesn’t explain why _Joonmyun_ isn’t doing it.”

Joonmyun, actually, would have had no problem being the announcer, but Baekhyun _was_ the president.

“I don’t know,” Chanyeol threw up her hands, “I’m more concerned about the _actual_ volleyball things, right now.”

“You want to go see if Kyungsoo needs anything, don’t you?” Baekhyun teased and Chanyeol huffed.

“I _am_ the co-captain.”

“Go! Go see if the great Kyungsoo needs you,” Baekhyun told her, waving Chanyeol off theatrically, “I have Joonmyun to help me, anyway.”

Chanyeol made a face at Baekhyun, but she still eagerly trotted across the gym to find Kyungsoo and latch onto her.

“So, are you ready to watch Chanyeol fawn over Kyungsoo all day?” Baekhyun asked her, tucking the clipboard between her knees to tighten her tiny ponytail.

“I’m ready,” Joonmyun said, giving Baekhyun a thumbs up.

Baekhyun somberly shook her head, and as though she was in a horror movie, told her, “I don’t think you are.”

 

\---

 

Despite Baekhyun's trepidations, announcing the matches went smoothly, and Baekhyun, Joonmyun, Sehun, and Zitao spent Chanyeol’s first match in the bleachers, cheering her on obnoxiously.

Every time Chanyeol so much as touched the ball, Baekhyun stood up and cheered loudly. Most people would have gotten annoyed at her over-the-top display of support (that was half sarcasm and half _actual_ support), but Chanyeol laughed happily every time. That is, until Kyungsoo started shooting death glares into the stands. At which point, Chanyeol just quietly smiled and tried to motion for Baekhyun to stop. Which, of course, she didn’t.

By the third set, Baekhyun had come up with a chant for every point their team got, which she got Joonmyun, Sehun, and Zitao doing as well.

When they won their match, Baekhyun was sure it was due to their cheering. And she told Chanyeol as much after the next match between two other schools started.

“Yeah, it probably was,” Chanyeol agreed with a grin, wispy bits of hair sticking out from her ponytail, “But, uh, Kyungsoo gets kind of annoyed with that kind of stuff, so maybe don’t do it during our next match?”

“We won’t use the _same_ cheer,” Baekhyun told her, pleased with herself, “We’ve gotta stay fresh, after all.”

Chanyeol laughed, giddy with their victory and the fact that her favorite people were all in the same room. (Well, except for Dizzee Rascal. But he didn’t usually show up to high school volleyball tournaments in the States.)

“This is going really well, though, right?” Chanyeol asked, bouncing excitedly and looking between Baekhyun and Joonmyun.

“It was a really good idea, Chanyeol,” Joonmyun told her, smiling and receiving a huge grin in return, “It seems like everyone is enjoying themselves.”

“But the important thing is whether or not _Kyungsoo_ thinks it was a good idea,” Baekhyun interjected, nudging Chanyeol in the ribs with a pointy elbow.

“As the _captain_ of the _volleyball_ team,” Chanyeol sniffed, “She thinks it was a great idea.”

“And as the star of your wank fantasies?” Baekhyun pressed, jumping away with a yelp when Chanyeol went to smack her on the arm.

Joonmyun raised her eyebrows. Did they talk about that kind of thing? Or was Baekhyun just assuming?

“Has the Kyungsoo in your dreams told you how brilliant you are and offered to give you a _reward_ for making this event happen?” Baekhyun asked, cackling even as Chanyeol grabbed her and tried to get her in a headlock.

A reward? The meaning of Baekhyun’s comment hit Joonmyun as Baekhyun fought Chanyeol off with her clipboard, and Joonmyun felt her cheeks flush as an image of Chanyeol and Kyungsoo in a very compromising position flashed through her mind.

Sometimes, she honestly forgot that she was supposed to be pretending to be a lesbian and forgot about the fact that her new group of friends were all gay (even with Sehun and Zitao all over each other all the time). Baekhyun’s inability to shut up and Chanyeol’s bright disposition were more notable than their sexualities.

But then someone (usually Baekhyun) would make a comment and Joonmyun would remember that all of them really did like women. And that meant that they were _sexually attracted to women_ , which just wasn’t something that Joonmyun had ever considered. It was a completely foreign concept to her.

Besides, she and Minseok _never_ talked about sex at all, so any overly explicit comment always kind of caught Joonmyun off guard.

“Chanyeol!” was what snapped Joonmyun out of her musings and had Baekhyun and Chanyeol pausing in their weird fight that had devolved into Baekhyun trying to smack Chanyeol on the ass with her clipboard.

All three of them looked in the direction of the call and saw Kyungsoo impatiently waving Chanyeol over.

“Gotta go!” Chanyeol announced, grinning, presumably, over the fact that Kyungsoo needed her for something.

Baekhyun made a whip-cracking sound as Chanyeol left to see what Kyungsoo wanted and Chanyeol only briefly paused to stick out her tongue before hurrying to Kyungsoo’s side.

“Oh man, a whole day of this,” Baekhyun marvelled, “Chanyeol is going to be exhausted from playing puppy all day long.”

Joonmyun muffled her laugh behind her hand. Because it was funny, but a little harsh. Though she knew that it wasn’t anything that Baekhyun wouldn’t say to Chanyeol’s face, and Chanyeol would retaliate just because it was the proper response, rather than because she was actually angry.

“Come on,” Baekhyun beckoned, turning to walk toward the entryway of the gymnasium, “Let’s make sure we’re still good on water and snacks. I sent Sehun and Zitao to check a half hour ago, but they disappeared.”

“Do you want me to just do it?” Joonmyun offered, “So you can keep an eye on the match in case anyone needs anything?”

Baekhyun sighed, “I guess. Wouldn’t it be more fun to do it together, though?” she teased, latching onto Joonmyun’s arm and fluttering her lashes at her.

Joonmyun snorted, forcing herself to shake Baekhyun off.

“Do you job, President,” she chided and Baekhyun pouted, but saluted her as Joonmyun made her way over to the refreshments table.

Even as she smiled to herself, Joonmyun felt something weird creeping up in her chest.

Maybe living a double life, as Minseok liked to say she did, was taking a toll.

 

\---

 

“Joonmyun!”

Joonmyun turned around at the sound of her name and saw Baekhyun hurrying to catch up to her in crowded hallway.

Squeezing past a couple who found it necessary to hold hands while walking to class, Baekhyun finally was able to fall into step with Joonmyun.

“What’s up?” Joonmyun asked, adjusting her grip on her AP history book.

“What are you doing this Friday night?” Baekhyun demanded, grinning hopefully at her and ignoring the group of boys who knocked into her shoulder as they walked past.

“Nothing?” Joonmyun told her honestly.

“Wrong!” Baekhyun crowed, “You are coming to an end of midterms celebration at Chanyeol’s!”

“By celebration, do you mean a party with lots of people or like the student council victory celebration with five of us in Chanyeol’s basement?”

Baekhyun pouted. “We are way more fun than a big group of people. Don’t even lie.”

Joonmyun laughed, “I never said you weren’t.”

“So, to answer your question, it is going to be a celebration with just the most select company. In Chanyeol’s basement.”

“Sounds great,” Joonmyun said with a laugh, and grinned when Baekhyun let out a pleased cheer.

“Alright, I’m going in the other direction, so I have to haul ass to get to Lit on time,” Baekhyun told her, “See you!”

Joonmyun waved goodbye and then glanced at her watch. Baekhyun had one minute to get to class. She snorted. Of course Baekhyun had flagged her down and gone out of her way when she could have just texted her.

But the fact that this wasn’t a student council specific thing and she’d _still_ been invited wasn’t lost on her.

She smiled as she settled into her seat in her European history class, pulling out her planner and marking in the “celebration” for that Friday.

Student council responsibilities aside, she considered Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Zitao,and Sehun her friends, so it was a good feeling to know that they felt the same way.

 

\---

 

“And then he asked if I wanted to see a movie with him on Friday!” Minseok exclaimed, cleaning the nozzle on the espresso machine, “ _After_ I told him that I didn’t want to go out with him! Is he ever gonna get the hint?”

“Apparently not?” Joonmyun offered from where she was leaning against the counter.

On Wednesdays, she often stopped by the cafe where Minseok worked on her way home from her model UN meetings. And if there weren’t many customers, she’d stay to chat.

“Ugh,” Minseok groaned, rolling her eyes in annoyance, “Dealing with Lu Han is exhausting.”

“Well, yeah,” Joonmyun agreed. She didn’t know Lu Han well, but from what she’d seen of his pursuits of Minseok, that seemed about right.

Out of the corner of her eye, Joonmyun could see Yixing watching Minseok with a fond smile on his face.

“Anyway,” Minseok continued, moving to wipe down the counter, “I told him we were hanging out on Friday.”

“I won’t tell him otherwise,” Joonmyun promised, and Minseok shot her a grin.

“Want to do something on Friday, by the way? Make my lie true?” she joked.

“I would,” Joonmyun began apologetically, “But I’ve got some end of midterms gathering at Chanyeol’s house.”

Minseok raised her eyebrows.

But before she could tease Joonmyun about her faux-lesbian lifestyle, Yixing cut in.

“If you want an engagement on Friday, I’m free,” he offered with an easy smile.

The proposal might have sounded sleazy coming from someone else- Baekhyun, Joonmyun’s mind immediately provided, and Joonmyun had to swallow down the giggle the bubbled up at the thought- but somehow, Yixing just seemed friendly.

Though there was no doubt in Joonmyun’s mind that Yixing had a thing for Minseok.

“You’re in college and you seriously don’t have anything to do on a Friday night?” Minseok laughed, and Yixing just shrugged- smile still in place, “That’s a little sad. I’m judging you a bit for having nothing better to do than hang out with someone who’s still in high school.”

Her words were blunt, but Joonmyun could tell she was just teasing by the playful amusement in her eyes.

“I’m only a year older than you, Minseok,” he reminded her good-naturedly.

“I know, but _still_ ,” she insisted, “You don’t live at home and I have an eleven o’clock curfew.”

“The offer stands,” was all he said, dimple in his cheek flashing as he went to tidy the table a couple had just vacated.

Minseok chuckled as he walked away, shaking her head disbelievingly.

“So how does it feel to have multiple guys vying for your time?” Joonmyun jested, and Minseok shot her a look.

“He’s just joking,” she said, brushing off Joonmyun’s pointed stare.

Joonmyun elected to drop it.

“ _You’re_ the one going to a party this weekend,” Minseok deflected, “You’re the popular one.”

“Chanyeol’s basement and four other people isn’t exactly a _party_ ,” Joonmyun pointed out.

Minseok shrugged. “So it’s going well with them? They haven’t realized you like men yet?”

“No,” Joonmyun sighed, feeling her stomach twist uncomfortably at the reminder of her lie.

“Do you think they’ll be mad if they find out?”

Joonmyun tried not to think about it.

“The plan is that they never will,” she said resolutely.

“What about our ten year reunion? What if you show up with a husband?” Minseok pressed, clearly amused by her own scenario.

“I don’t think any of this will matter in ten years,” Joonmyun reasoned, convincing herself as well as Minseok.

“Just saying,” Minseok said with a grin that showed off her gums.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Joonmyun told her, “But for now, things are going according to plan, so it’s fine.”

“If you say so,” Minseok allowed, brows furrowed like they were when Joonmyun had first told her the plan.

But it was all fine. Minseok had thought it was a bad idea from the start, but it had only brought good things to Joonmyun’s life. She was a member of the student council like she wanted and she’d made four new friends. It was good. Minseok didn’t know what she was talking about. Joonmyun had everything under control. Just like she always did.

 

\---

 

“Iggy Azalea…”

“Fuck Iggy Azalea,” Baekhyun immediately cut in.

Chanyeol blinked at her, “I haven’t listed your other choices.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Baekhyun informed her, taking a swig of her beer, “The correct answer is to fuck Iggy. Always.”

“Okay, so Iggy Azalea,” Chanyeol continued, a mischievous smile tugging at her lips, “Katy Perry…”

“How dare you,” Baekhyun interjected ominously.

“And Lady Gaga,” Chanyeol finished.

“You _bitch_ ,” Baekhyun seethed, “I don’t want to kill any of them!”

Chanyeol grinned, pleased with herself.

Baekhyun let out a tormented sounding sigh.

“Hurry up and decide,” Sehun complained from where she was seated in Zitao’s lap on the couch in Chanyeol’s basement, “I have a good one for Chanyeol.”

“It’s my turn to ask next anyway,” Baekhyun told her and tossed her hair sassily as an extra act of defiance, “Fuck Iggy, because obvious reasons.”

“Because of her ass, you mean,” Zitao corrected, sounding bored.

“And then…” Baekhyun trailed off and then let out a wail of despair, “Chanyeol! This is too hard!”

Chanyeol laughed, clapping her hands together in glee.

“I can’t kill either of them!”

“Stop being such a drama queen,” Sehun complained, and Baekhyun shot her a look.

“You’re dating Zitao,” she reminded her, “The biggest drama queen in the history of ever.”

Zitao scowled, “Lies. All lies. I am _not_ that dramatic.”

She looked around for support and Joonmyun hastily took another drink of beer to look busy.

“Guys!” she whined, “I am not that bad!”

“Remember when you lost at bowling?” Chanyeol pointed out gently.

“I did not lose!” Zitao immediately argued, “My _team_ lost and that’s because you guys wouldn’t let me be captain!”

Joonmyun raised her eyebrows.

“We had to listen to variations of this for two weeks afterwards,” Baekhyun stage whispered to Joonmyun, and Zitao glared at her.

“Okay!” Chanyeol said enthusiastically, “Baekhyun! Who are you keeping and who are you killing?”

“I’ve given it a lot of thought,” Baekhyun began and Sehun snorted, “And I’m going to keep Katy.”

“So you’re killing Gaga, then?” Chanyeol clarified, eyes wide like this wasn’t a dumb game and like she hadn’t been the one to provide the choices.

“Sadly, yes,” Baekhyun confirmed, hand over her heart, “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned.”

“You’re not even religious,” Zitao reminded her with a roll of her eyes.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Baekhyun said solemnly.

Sehun scoffed, but Baekhyun ignored her.

Joonmyun found that she was finally getting into the rhythm of their interactions, which included more sass than she’d ever experienced prior. She might not have been able to jump into exchanges when Sehun and Zitao were throwing out well-meaning insults and jokes, but she could at least go back and forth with Baekhyun.

“Now!” Baekhyun announced, “I’ve got one for Zitao that includes lots and lots of dick!”

Zitao’s disgusted face had Joonmyun almost snorting beer out her nose, and Baekhyun had never looked more pleased with herself.

 

\---

 

“Truth or dare?” Sehun asked Chanyeol- giddy with the alcohol in her system and still high off of watching Zitao do a sexy dance against the wall.

“Dare,” Chanyeol immediately answered, eager as ever.

Another hour...or so had passed, and all of them were definitely past tipsy. Even Joonmyun was getting close to being drunk since felt so much more comfortable this time, now that she considered these girls her friends.

Sehun opened her mouth to give Chanyeol her dare but dissolved into a fit of giggles instead.

“Any day now,” Baekhyun called, leaning against the TV stand, and Sehun just continued to choke on her laughter- waving Baekhyun off with a very weak flap of her arm.

“Give a...” she giggled again and had to take a moment to compose herself, “Give a lapdance to Baekhyun.”

Zitao wolf-whistled and Chanyeol just shrugged, game for whatever.

“Baekhyun should sit in the chair,” Zitao reasoned, motioning for Chanyeol to stand up so Baekhyun could take her place.

“Please don’t knee me in the boob or fall on me or something,” Baekhyun warned even as she got up to sit in Chanyeol’s vacated seat.

“Do you want me to pull up a song on my phone?” Zitao offered, but Chanyeol shook her head.

“How about Sehun serenades us with some Ariana?” Baekhyun suggested and Sehun flipped her off.

“I will provide my own music,” Chanyeol proclaimed.

“Oh god,” Baekhyun muttered, sitting back in the chair.

Chanyeol started rapping something that Joonmyun wasn’t familiar with, and she was actually good. Really good. Joonmyun was impressed.

But then Chanyeol started moving her body in what she appeared to think was a sexy way and her coolness from her rapping was cancelled out by her awkward arm movements and hip thrusts.

“How long do I have to withstand this?” Baekhyun wailed, making a show of it even though Joonmyun could tell she found it just as funny as the rest of them did.

Chanyeol hit her on the shoulder and Baekhyun yelped loudly.

“You’re not supposed to hit the person you’re giving a lap dance to, Chanyeol!” she hollered, but Chanyeol just continued rapping- kneeling on either side of Baekhyun’s hips and drumming her fingers against her shoulders in a very unsexy manner.

Baekhyun was outright cracking up by that point, and Chanyeol looked like she was barely containing her own laughter.

After finishing off the verse she was on, Chanyeol stopped and stood up- taking a bow.

“Please, for the love of god, never go into stripping professionally,” Baekhyun wheezed, tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

“You liked it,” Chanyeol told her with a grin, unconcerned about the fact that everyone was laughing at her dancing attempt, “You should feel privileged. Now get out of my chair.”

Baekhyun slid onto the floor like a weird worm-thing and crawled over to where Joonmyun was sitting to flop against her and laugh into her neck.

“Your turn, Chanyeol,” Zitao announced as Chanyeol got settled in her chair and Baekhyun calmed herself.

“Joonmyun,” Chanyeol called, “Truth or dare?”

The few times Joonmyun had played truth or dare at sleepovers as a kid, she’d always chosen truth. But given the circumstances, she had to admit that truth was probably a bad idea.

“Dare,” she said cautiously.

“Put your bra in the freezer for a half hour and then put it back on after the time is up.”

Joonmyun let out a sigh of relief. With Baekhyun still leaning against her, she was afraid that Chanyeol might dare her to…

“That’s so easy!” Sehun complained, “You made me eat a weird smoothie with peanut butter and ketchup in it!”

“I have no vendetta against Joonmyun,” Chanyeol explained, “She’s never dared me to stand outside in my underwear in the middle of winter.”

Sehun snickered at the memory as Joonmyun took her bra off under her shirt and went to put it in the basement freezer.

Chanyeol clapped when she got back like she’d accomplished something amazing.

“Your turn,” she told her as Joonmyun sat back down.

“Baekhyun,” she began, “Truth or dare?”

“Truth!” Baekhyun exclaimed, “I need a break after that lap dance.”

Chanyeol grinned, seeming proud of herself.

Joonmyun hesitated. There was something she’d been curious about, but hadn’t had the guts to ask. Mostly because she knew it was none of her business.

But if there was ever a time to sate her curiosity, it was now. And she was just drunk enough to summon the courage to ask.

“Have you and Chanyeol ever…” Joonmyun trailed off, feeling like Sehun when she’d been curiously asking Joonmyun about her experience with Kyuhyun.

Baekhyun raised her eyebrows expectantly when Joonmyun didn’t finish the sentence, lips pulled into an amused smirk.

“Have you two ever done anything?” Joonmyun asked again, hoping that would be good enough.

Fortunately, Baekhyun cut her a break.

“We kissed for like five minutes in eighth grade,” Baekhyun informed her, not appearing ruffled by the question at all despite how embarrassed Joonmyun was to have asked it.

Chanyeol was nodding from her spot in the recliner, “Yep!”

“We quickly realized that was a bad idea,” Baekhyun added wryly, and Chanyeol easily agreed again- grinning like it was nothing.

Joonmyun felt relief spread through her despite not knowing why she’d been so tense to begin with.

At least her turn was over now and she could just go back to watching the other girls give each other ridiculous dares.

“Zitao,” Baekhyun sing-songed, “Truth or dare?”

Zitao fixed her with a determined gaze and answered, “Dare.”

 

\---

 

“She’s so perfect though,” Chanyeol lamented, sitting in the chair improperly so her head hung off the edge of the seat and she was looking over at Baekhyun and Joonmyun upside down, “Have you seen her volleyball serve? Have you seen her _smile_?”

“Both,” Baekhyun drunkenly informed her from where she was sprawled across an only slightly more sober Joonmyun’s lap, “But I’ve seen her serve more than smile.”

She laughed like she’d made a joke.

Chanyeol pouted and Joonmyun was reminded of a particular Shel Silverstein poem about frowning upside down. She tried and failed to muffle the giggle that rose with the brilliant connection she’d made between Chanyeol and a children’s poem.

“What’s so funny?” Chanyeol wanted to know.

“I’m just hilarious,” Baekhyun easily informed Chanyeol at the same time Joonmyun said, “Sorry, I was just thinking about a poem.”

Baekhyun snorted at that, reaching up to pat Joonmyun on the cheek, “You’re weird. I like you.”

Joonmyun giggled again.

“Guys,” Chanyeol whined, “This is _serious_. What should I do?”

“Okay, _Zitao_ ,” Baekhyun mocked, and Chanyeol huffed- indignant.

“Hm?” Zitao pulled away from where she’d been attached at the mouth to Sehun, “Did you say my name?”

“Not important,” Baekhyun informed her, “Go back to inhaling Sehun.”

“M’kay,” she replied, leaning back over to press her lips to Sehun’s- tucking her angled bob behind her ear and giving the room a perfect view of the messy slide of their lips and flashes of their tongues tangled together.

For as...all over each other as they’d been the first time they’d hung out like this, they were even more shameless this time.

“But seriously,” Chanyeol said, bringing Joonmyun’s attention back to her, “I am going to just end up kissing her one of these days. Her lips are so perfect and they look so soft!”

“Go for it,” Baekhyun told her, doing some weird wink/finger gun combo that would have looked more normal coming from a middle aged stand up comedian in the 90’s.

“I can’t just _kiss her_!” Chanyeol wailed, “She might punch me! Or worse!”

“Yeah, she might murder you,” Baekhyun conceded, “That’s true.”

“I didn’t mean _murder_ ,” Chanyeol pouted, “I mean, what if she hates me?”

Joonmyun felt her heart break at how sad Chanyeol looked, especially since Chanyeol was usually so cheery.

“I really don’t think she’d hate you,” Joonmyun told her even though she didn’t really know what she was talking about at all, “She seemed quite...fond of you at the tournament,” she supplied, “And besides, I don’t know how anyone could hate you.”

Chanyeol looked a little less sad at that.

“Really?” she asked, looking hopeful.

“Really,” Joonmyun assured her, smiling at her warmly.

“Thanks,” Chanyeol said, returning her smile before grabbing her phone from the armrest.

“What are you doing? What are you doing?” Baekhyun demanded loudly, which startled Joonmyun since it had seemed like she’d been dozing off, “Drunk texting? Are you drunk texting? That’s a bad idea!”

“I just wanted to tell Kyungsoo how good of a volleyball captain she is,” Chanyeol defended.

“Bad idea! Don’t do it!”

“Shut up. I’ll do what I want to,” Chanyeol told her, sticking her tongue out before going back to her phone.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Baekhyun announced, seemingly to the room at large, though Joonmyun was the only one listening.

Baekhyun rolled onto her side and pulled her knees up to her chest, head still resting on Joonmyun’s thighs.

“You’re comfy,” she mumbled, shifting around before settling down.

“Thanks?” Joonmyun chuckled, but it appeared that Baekhyun really had dozed off that time.

With nothing else to occupy her since Baekhyun was napping and Chanyeol was texting, Joonmyun found her inebriated self staring at Zitao and Sehun as they made out on the couch.

From the way their legs were slotted together, Joonmyun could tell that they were rocking against each other’s thighs- quiet moans swallowed by their insistent kisses.

Joonmyun could feel her cheeks heating as she watched them, but she still found herself thinking about how she’d never experienced the need to have someone, regardless of who was around.

Zitao and Sehun were always touching in some way- wanting to be as near to each other as possible no matter the situation. And Joonmyun...she’d liked dating Kyuhyun. She’d enjoyed talking to him and kissing him and…

But she’d never been so overwhelmed with want for him that she felt the need to sneak away to get him alone. And she’d certainly never been so overcome with passion that she’d have even _thought_ about making out with him with no concern for the fact that other people were watching.

Joonmyun hoped that there was a guy out there who would have her feeling half as enamored as Zitao and Sehun clearly were with each other.

Baekhyun making a quiet yipping sound in her sleep had Joonmyun turning her attention from the enthusiastic couple to the girl curled up and half in her lap.

Snuffling, Baekhyun shifted so her warm exhalations puffed against Joonmyun’s thigh.

Joonmyun smiled her herself, feeling her chest flood with warmth as she kept herself from brushing back Baekhyun’s hair. She’d have to wake her in a little while when they all dragged themselves upstairs to Chanyeol’s bedroom to get in their sleeping bags and sleep, but for the time being, she wanted to let Baekhyun rest.

And she couldn’t deny that she was comfortable too- having no urge to move and have Baekhyun’s warm weight leave her.

So Joonmyun leaned back against the wall and let her eyes fall closed for just a minute, heart beating in time with Baekhyun’s breathing against her.

 

\---

 

“The world is changing,” Baekhyun said to the faculty seated in front of her, wrapping up her pitch, “And things are getting better. But we still have a long way to go, and I hope that this speaker can help at least one student feel more comfortable in their own skin.”

Baekhyun’s pitch was to get an LGBQT speaker to come to their school to talk about their own experiences and equality and the struggle that kids who identify as something other than heterosexual have to deal with. She wanted to help raise awareness of the relevant issues, as well as show any kids who might have been struggling with their sexuality that it was okay to be who they were and that they weren’t alone.

Joonmyun had been on board since Baekhyun had initially told them at the end of the previous council meeting, but hearing her official pitch to the faculty had Joonmyun feeling moved by the cause and ready to push for this to happen.

But it turned out that she didn’t need to argue in Baekhyun’s favor. The faculty appeared just as impressed with Baekhyun’s pitch as Joonmyuyn was, and they gave the okay almost immediately.

After discussing a few logistics with the faculty about how they’d raise the funds for the speaker, the five of them retreated to their regular classroom to plan.

“Congrats!” Chanyeol bellowed when they were in the classroom with the door closed, “I know you’ve really wanted to make this happen, ever since you pitched it to the council last year and they decided to go with a speaker on drugs instead.”

“Yeah,” Baekhyun agreed, beaming as she let Chanyeol scoop her up into an enthusiastic hug that she only protested to a little.

“It was a great speech,” Joonmyun told her, and Baekhyun glowed, “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” she said, grinning but seeming a bit in shock still that the faculty had supported her idea.

“So how are we going to raise money?” Zitao asked, opening her notebook that had the total amount of money they needed to raise written in it and nothing else.

“Stop trying to seem important,” Sehun complained and Zitao made a face at her.

“Neither of you are important,” Baekhyun half-heartedly threw at them, too giddy from her success to properly insult them, “But we do need to discuss how we’re going to raise money before Chanyeol has to leave for volleyball.”

“She’s not important either,” Sehun said, giggling in Chanyeol’s direction.

“That’s true,” Baekhyun easily agreed, grinning when Chanyeol pouted at her, “But we should all brainstorm together.”

“So, Joonmyun is the only important one?” Zitao asked, half sulking and half amused.

“Yep!” Baekhyun chirped, shooting Joonmyun a grin, “Besides me, of course.”

“You don’t need us, then,” Sehun observed, leaning against Zitao’s back and resting her chin on her shoulder.

“No leaving meetings to make out!” Baekhyun said sternly, pointing a finger at them, and they both made token dissenting noises.

“Okay, but seriously,” Baekhyun said with a laugh, sitting down in her usual seat, “Let’s figure this out.”

“Right. Ideas!” Chanyeol yelled out uselessly as she sat down as well.

“We could sell tickets to a live sex show from these two,” Baekhyun said wryly, motioning to Sehun and Zitao whose chairs were so close together, they were nearly in each others’ laps.

Zitao huffed, and Chanyeol burst out laughing- clapping her hands delightedly.

“Hmm…” Baekhyun continued on as though her suggestion had been a real one, “But people can get that basically for free, so…”

Sehun flipped Baekhyun off, and Zitao rolled her eyes, looking bored.

“It’s a little obvious, but we could have a bake sale…” Joonmyun suggested.

“Oh!” Chanyeol exclaimed, “Kyungsoo makes really good cookies! Wait! So do I! I can make really good cookies! Let’s do that!”

There was a moment where no one spoke and Chanyeol grinned at everyone hopefully.

“Well, I don’t know if we should count on Kyungsoo to make cookies without asking her first,” Baekhyun said slowly, blinking like her head was still spinning from Chanyeol’s rapid-fire outburst, “But a bake sale could be good.”

Chanyeol beamed, looking about ready to bounce out of her seat.

“It’d work best if we can sell when people will be hungry. Like during lunch and right after school when everyone is on their way home,” Joonmyun added, and was pleased when she saw that Sehun was writing down what she was saying. That was a good sign.

Baekhyun nodded, “That would definitely work. So, Chanyeol can bake. Anyone else?”

“I’ll ask Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol immediately piped up, “Maybe we can bake together,” she added dreamily.

“Alright,” Baekhyun agreed, letting Chanyeol have her moment, “Sehun? Zitao?”

Zitao snorted.

“We could...try?” Sehun offered.

Baekhyun paused for a second.

“Nevermind,” she said, seeming to think better of _that_ idea, “Joonmyun?”

“I’m capable of making cupcakes or something if I buy a mix at the store,” she told Baekhyun, and Baekhyun smiled- eyes dancing.

“Perfect,” she said, “My skillset is at the same place, so I can do something like that too.”

“Hooray!” Chanyeol added.

“Chanyeol, can you reach out to the students and see if anyone is willing to donate baked goods to the fundraiser?” Baekhyun asked, “We’re going to need more than what three of us can make.”

“Yep!” Chanyeol eagerly agreed, “I can put up flyers and make an event on facebook and talk to the office about mentioning it during morning announcements.”

“Great!” Baekhyun grinned, checking something off in her notebook and tucking her hair behind her ear.

Joonmyun found herself tracing the soft line of Baekhyun’s jaw with her eyes and appreciating the way her earring glinted under the florescent light.

She loved Baekhyun’s playful side, but she couldn’t help that she liked to see Baekhyun like this too- task oriented and responsible. As a hard worker, herself, she appreciated those traits in other people.

“Can we talk about pricing now?” Zitao wanted to know, bringing Joonmyun’s attention away from the pale slope of Baekhyun’s neck and the way her tapered fingers gripped her purple pen, “I can actually be helpful if we’re doing that,” she complained.

Baekhyun snorted.

“Yes, Zitao,” she conceded, shooting an amused smile at the younger girl, “We can talk about pricing now.”

Zitao perked up, and Joonmyun found herself smiling.

They may have been an unlikely group to be in student government, but they made things work in their own way.

 

\---

 

Joonmyun highlighted a passage in her history textbook, jotting down an idea for her research paper in the margin.

She’d been working on homework for two hours and was starting to lose focus. Without meaning to, Joonmyun found herself staring into space for minutes at a time before she even realized it.

As her mind wandered, she thought about all the things she needed to get done. She thought about student council and their upcoming fundraiser. She thought about watching movies with Baekhyun and about how she’d had to drag a half-asleep, unwilling Baekhyun up to Chanyeol’s room the previous weekend at their end of midterms celebration.

Before she knew it, she was thinking about how absolutely shameless Zitao and Sehun had been when they’d been making out on the couch while Baekhyun was sleeping and Chanyeol was doing some Kyungsoo-related thing on her phone.

They were obviously very practised- knowing exactly how they fit together and how have the other shuddering and gasping with just a light touch or brush of the lips.

How long had she been watching them?

This was clearly why she’d avoided drinking in the past.That, and the fact that it was illegal.

Joonmyun shifted in her desk chair and rubbed her eyes.

Thinking about her friends making out with each other, even if they did it in front of her constantly, wasn’t something she should have been doing.

What she _should_ have been doing was her history reading.

Forcing her mind back onto the text in front of her and _away_ from painted nails catching the light as they crept underneath fabric and fluidly rocking hips, Joonmyun tried to ignore the heat in her cheeks.

She had ten more pages to read and it was already nine thirty. Time to focus.

 

\---

 

Joonmyun managed to get her work done and get in bed by a little after eleven that night- exhausted when her head finally hit the pillow.

But as usual, she didn’t fall asleep right away- mind still moving through tasks she had to get done and what the next day entailed.

Gradually, her thoughts slowed down and became more involuntary as she crept closer to sleep.

How she’d decorate her dorm room when she was a freshman in college (at Princeton, of course).

How annoying it was that she couldn’t organize the pictures on her phone into personalized folders.

Her sixth birthday party that had had a rodeo theme where they’d played party games her mother had suggested that had probably last been played in the 1960’s.

That rude sales assistant she’d encountered two years prior whom she really wished she’d had the guts to tell off.

What it would be like to kiss Baekhyun.

In the midst of imagining _herself_ and Baekhyun making out like Zitao and Sehun had been the previous weekend, Joonmyun realized what she was thinking and quickly brought that thought process to a halt.

 _What_ had _that_ been about?

Joonmyun stared at her ceiling- the crisp, white paint a murky grey with the lights off- and tried to reason out what she’d just been imagining.

Making out with Baekhyun? That was insane.

Not because there was anything _wrong_ with Baekhyun. Or even because she was a girl.

Okay. Maybe a little because she was a girl.

But...they were friends! Friends. And Joonmyun liked boys.

She thought about that one for a minute- recalling the strong jaws and chiseled abs of some of her favorite male celebrities.

Yep. She definitely liked boys.

So why…

And in the same position she’d seen Zitao and Sehun in at Chanyeol’s house.

Did this mean that…?

No. Nope. It was temporary insanity. Brought on by fatigue. And stress.

She couldn’t control what her brain did when she was about to fall asleep. It didn’t _matter_ that she’d been quite content to follow that train of thought before she’d forcefully stopped herself.

She was _tired_.

And she’d just seen Sehun and Zitao making out way too many times.

That was probably it.

She wasn’t used to seeing two people practically have sex with their clothes on _in front of her_ (here, Joonmyun intentionally didn’t acknowledge that that was _precisely_ what she and Baekhyun had been doing in her imagination just then).

Her brain signals had gotten crossed or something. Because history reading. And sleep. And…

And…

Sleep. She needed to sleep. That was all. She just needed to sleep, and in the morning, all of this would seem insane and laughable.

Turning over in bed and pulling the covers up to her chin, Joonmyun carefully counted her inhales and exhales until she fell into an uneasy sleep.

 

\---

 

The next day, her thoughts the previous night weren’t quite as laughable as she’d hoped.

Nonetheless, she was sure that she could make sense of the images that were still floating around in her head and popping up in fragmented flashes throughout the day.

As she sat in class, listening to her teacher and taking notes, she’d suddenly be assaulted by an image of Baekhyun kissing her- hovering over her and licking into her mouth in the shameless way she’d gotten used to seeing Sehun and Zitao go at it.

Joonmyun would quickly and forcibly shake the thoughts away, but it was no use. Within the next half hour, she’d be assaulted by another image- that time of Baekhyun’s spit slick lips or of the way she imagined her breath would stutter in pleasure.

By the time fifth period was over, she was losing her mind, and that was when she usually saw Baekhyun in the hall. And, of course, that day was no exception.

“Oh my god, my music theory teacher is insane!” Baekhyun lamented, falling into step with Joonmyun like she did every single day, “We have so much work to do over the weekend! _And_ I have a paper due for art history on Tuesday. This weekend is gonna suck so much.”

“Are we still on for baking this weekend?” Joonmyun asked, forcing herself to behave normally.

She just needed to act like she always did when she was with Baekhyun, instead of fixate on the undeniable pull to lean forward and connect their lips.

Joonmyun was concerned that she was actually going insane.

“Of course!” Baekhyun told her with a grin, “The brownies aren’t gonna make themselves! Don’t tell my teachers, but this fundraiser takes precedence over my schoolwork.”

Baekhyun was grinning conspiratorially at her, and Joonmyun suddenly felt like she couldn’t swallow. What was happening to her?

She felt like her mental slip the night before had just messed up her mind entirely.

This didn’t have to _mean_ anything, she assured herself, aside from the fact that she was obviously crazy.

Just because she couldn’t get an image out of her head didn’t mean that she _wanted_ it. Disturbing images got stuck in people’s minds too!

Not that the idea of kissing Baekhyun was _disturbing_. It wasn’t like she internally recoiled like when she’d had that weird and inappropriate dream about Minseok that one time.

And _maybe_ she felt a little...light headed and warm when she thought about kissing Baekhyun, but-

It was just a… _striking_ image, that was all.

It was _striking_.

It didn’t mean she was attracted to Baekhyun. It meant that it was unlike anything she’d ever imagined before, and therefore, it was just _memorable_. Exactly.

Joonmyun blew out a breath and tried to will herself to calm down.

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked, brows furrowed and lips turned down at the corners.

“Yeah, just...stressed about everything I have to do, too,” she lied, and Baekhyun nodded in sympathy.

“We can do it!” Baekhyun cheered, pumping her fist in the air and managing to look adorable and ridiculous all at once, “And then we’ll make brownies. And eat some of them. To test.”

Joonmyun huffed out a laugh, feeling the knot of tension in her chest loosen slightly.

This was Baekhyun. Her friend. Her _good_ friend. There was no need to freak out over a thought process gone wrong.

But still, as Baekhyun grinned at her, Joonmyun felt something flutter in her chest.

She didn’t know which was worse- that, or the tension from before.

What she _did_ know was that Baekhyun had caused both.

 

\---

 

Joonymun was loathe to admit that, after imagining herself in compromising positions all day, she was left worked up and wanting by the time she crawled into bed that night.

She made sure to masturbate _at least_ once a week to make sure she could relieve the stress and tension that was built up. Since she’d broken up with Kyuhyun, she was even more determined to make sure she could keep herself satisfied.

Truthfully, she’d already exceeded her quota by one that week, but there was no harm in indulging one more time.

With the light off and her covers pulled over her, Joonmyun slid a hand down her torso and pressed her fingers against herself through her cotton panties.

She didn’t usually think too hard when she brought herself pleasure, but that night, she had to concentrate on _not_ thinking about the images that had assaulted her all day long.

But in doing that, she ended up going over schoolwork in her head, and that was probably the least sexy thing ever. Her underwear remained dry against her moving fingertips.

If she was going to do this (and she really felt like she needed to), she was going to have to let her mind go. And that was scary because she knew exactly _where_ it would go.

Taking a deep breath, Joonmyun resolved to just let whatever she thought of play out in her head. Maybe she just needed to get this fascination out of her system and then it would stop bothering her.

Fingers still kneading against her covered clit, Joonmyun stopped restricting her mind and immediately found herself thinking of herself and Baekhyun on that couch in Chanyeol’s basement. She thought about biting Baekhyun’s lower lip, the feel of their tongues sliding together, and the way Baekhyun’s hot breath would fan against her chin when they’d break apart.

Without even realizing it, Joonmyun’s hips had started rocking into her hand- little, dull bursts of pleasure shooting through her when she rubbed against herself through her panties just right, the material starting to feel a little damp.

Sighing in resignation, Joonmyun shimmied her underwear down her legs and kicked the fabric to the edge of them bed.

Joonmyun spread her legs and slid her fingers against herself, spreading the slickness to make the glide easier.

She shuddered as she circled her clit with her middle finger, lips parting in a gasp.

As if on cue, Joonmyun found herself picturing how Baekhyun’s eyebrows would furrow in pleasure and her mouth would fall open if she was the one touching herself.

From there, it was a slippery slope- mind conjuring images of Baekhyun in her own bed with her hand moving beneath her panties.

Did she tease herself first? Drive herself crazy before dipping her fingers into her underwear? Joonmyun didn’t think so. Baekhyun wasn’t patient enough for that.

Joonmyun imagined that she probably just rubbed the heel of her hand against herself through the material a couple of times before she’d just shove her hand under the waistband and touch herself properly.

Breath catching as she pressed a finger inside herself, Joonmyun pictured Baekhyun doing the same thing to herself until she had three fingers buried to the second knuckle.

It was with a sudden burst of pleasure that Joonmyun came, muffling her cry into the palm of her unoccupied hand, to the image of Baekhyun with three fingers pumping into herself.

Before she’d even caught her breath, Joonmyun could tell that this- whatever it was- was not something she’d be able to just get out of her system.

Body still throbbing from her release, Joonmyun closed her eyes and forced herself to relax.

She had to be rational about this.

Unfortunately, the rational part of her brain was screaming at her that she was attracted to Baekhyun and probably had been for quite some time.

The conclusion was pretty undeniable, but that didn’t mean that it was any easier to swallow.

It was hours before Joonmyun finally fell asleep, Baekhyun’s twinkling eyes the last thing she remembered thinking about.

 

\---

 

The first day of the fundraiser was Tuesday, and while all five of them had been selling the baked goods at lunch (even if Zitao spent the majority of the time whining about how she didn’t have time to eat because too many people wanted to buy things), Baekhyun and Joonmyun were the only two selling after school that day. The following day, Baekhyun and Chanyeol would sell, and then Zitao and Sehun would take over on Thursday.

Baekhyun turned and grinned at Joonmyun as she stuffed a few crumpled up bills from a freshman into their money box, hair blowing in the fall breeze.

They were just outside the main doors at a table they’d set up, so that the majority of the students would pass them on their way out of school.

It had only been fifteen minutes, and they’d already sold a ton.

“Our brownies are almost gone!” Baekhyun exclaimed happily, tugging on Joonmyun’s arm.

Joonmyun couldn’t help but return her grin.

“Not that I’m surprised,” Baekhyun added with a playfully hauty toss of her hair, “They clearly are the superior choice.”

“Don’t tell that to Chanyeol,” Joonmyun told her wryly, “She’ll attack you for saying they’re better than Kyungsoo’s cupcakes.”

Baekhyun snorted, “I am well aware. She wasn’t exactly shy about her praise for them during lunch.”

Joonmyun chuckled, shaking her head fondly as she recalled Chanyeol’s over-the-top claims about the cupcakes.

“But I think Chanyeol is overlooking the adversity we overcame to make these,” Baekhyun went on dramatically.

“We overcame adversity?” Joonmyun asked, cocking a brow.

“Remember when we almost added three eggs instead of two?” Baekhyun prompted, hand over her heart, “The struggle was so real.”

“So real,” Joonmyun agreed with the straightest face she could muster before bursting out laughing.

Baekhyun grinned- pleased by Joonmyun’s amusement.

Though they had had a few mishaps when they’d set out to bake five batches of brownies the previous Sunday, it had been an overall success- not to mention a blast since Joonmyun felt like the two of them had barely stopped laughing the whole time.

It had been Baekhyun with a streak of flour on her cheek, dancing in celebration when their first batch of brownies had come out of the oven, that had made Joonmyun realize, without a shadow of a doubt, that she had feelings for her.

Initially, when Baekhyun had arrived at her house with five boxes of brownie mix and a prolonged groan of agony about the music theory homework she’d been working on all morning, Joonmyun had been nervous- unsure of how to act around Baekhyun after what she’d imagined in the privacy of her own room two days prior...and also just the night before, if she was being honest.

But it was difficult to be awkward around Baekhyun for too long when she was behaving as she always did- her mouth constantly moving as she provided running commentary about their baking process and teased Joonmyun for her tendency to overthink the instructions on the box.

And when she wasn’t making sarcastic remarks, she was singing as she mixed the dry ingredients with a fork- dancing in place and stirring along to the beat.

It was easy to fall into their usual dynamics, even with the awareness that she couldn’t stop staring at the way Baekhyun’s eyes creased and became little crescents when she laughed and the unique square shape of her smile.

Truthfully, Joonmyun had been watching the way Baekhyun’s lips moved when she talked and the way her delicate fingers looked when she tucked her hair behind her slightly too big ears for a long time, she just hadn’t noticed. She’d been taking in every little thing about Baekhyun and her movements and her habits for a while, but only with the realization that she was attracted to her was she able to acknowledge it.

As she laughed at Baekhyun’s jokes and antics, chiding Baekhyun for sitting on the counter and teasing her for nearly dropping the mixing bowl on the floor, Joonmyun knew that what she was feeling wasn’t solely attraction.

Baekhyun’s weight against her side as she watched Joonmyun pour the batter into the pan had Joonmyun feeling warmth swell in her chest- heart beating just a little faster. The way their hands brushed as she passed off the whisk and the somewhat painful sensation of Baekhyun’s chin digging into her shoulder as they peered into the oven made something in her stomach flutter and twist, and it was hard to brush that off as nothing.

Even as they stood together outside the school that day, making change for students and handing over baked goods, Joonmyun was constantly aware of Baekhyun’s smile out of the corner of her eye and of every touch of Baekhyun’s hand against her arm even through her coat.

“We make such a good team, Joonmyun,” Baekhyun said to her when the last student of the day had walked off with a brownie wrapped in cellophane, “I bet no one else sells as much as we did today.”

Joonmyun couldn’t help but agree.

She also couldn’t help the way her stomach flip flopped and her heart sped up, thrumming with pride at what they’d accomplished as well as with fondness for the girl standing in front of her.

It seemed Joonmyun had very little control over anything regarding Baekhyun.

 

\---

 

The idea of being in a romantic relationship with a girl was something that Joonmyun had never considered. It wasn’t that she thought it was weird. It was just that she’d never had feelings for a girl, so there had been no reason to think about what it would be like to date one.

But with her newfound realization that she’d fallen for Baekhyun over the past few months, Joonmyun found herself pondering what it would be like to actually date her.

She knew by then that she could (vividly) imagine the two of them being intimate with each other in a sexual nature. But what about emotional intimacy? What about innocent gestures like holding hands or cuddling? And what about going on dates? Could she picture doing those types of things with Baekhyun? A girl whom, until a week ago, she just considered a friend?

Surprisingly, Joonmyun had no difficulty at all imagining any of that. Even though she’d never thought about dating a girl, and she hadn’t realized that her feelings for Baekhyun were more than platonic until recently, the idea of the two of them holding hands while walking to class made perfect sense to her.

As did the thought of going out to dinner to a nice restaurant on a special date. Or pressing her lips to Baekhyun’s in a chaste kiss as they curled up together to watch a movie.

None of that seemed weird, and Joonmyun was almost surprised by how much she found that she wanted those things.

And stranger still was that she could kind of almost believe that Baekhyun wanted them too.

She knew that, just because she was a girl and Baekhyun liked girls didn’t mean that Baekhyun liked her, but when she thought about their interactions in the past, she couldn’t help but consider the idea that maybe Baekhyun liked her too.

Little things, like how Baekhyun was extra touchy with her and how she always championed Joonmyun’s student council work, made Joonmyun think (hope) that maybe there was something there. Even Baekhyun’s sometimes seemingly endless teasing- her eyes fixed on Joonmyun, waiting for a reaction- made her think that Baekhyun might feel the same.

She thought of how Baekhyun kept dancing with her at homecoming, smile shining even in the dark of the dancefloor, and the way Baekhyun’s face always seemed to light up when she saw her in the halls. She contemplated the way Baekhyun had recently been insisting they went to get a snack after the student council meetings instead of going straight home, and the way Baekhyun would scoot close on the couch when they watched movies together on the weekend.

None of those things individually made much of a case. And even together, they didn’t make her sure. But she still couldn’t shake the feeling that she might not be alone in her feelings.

Of course she was then left with the question of what she should do now that she’d realized how she felt. Should she do something? Tell Baekhyun? Ask her out?

Joonmyun was confident that, regardless of Baekhyun’s feelings toward her, she wouldn’t be horrified that Joonmyun had a crush on her. She didn’t think that Baekhyun was be weirded out or disgusted or too uncomfortable to be around Joonmyun ever again.

But the chance that it would ruin the easy friendship that they had gave Joonmyun pause.

Perhaps it was best if she just waited a bit. All of this was so new to her that she didn’t want to do something hasty and end up regretting it.

Besides, there was no rush- no deadline for her to meet. Just because she had feelings for Baekhyun didn’t mean that she had to do anything about them right away.

There was nothing wrong with just sitting with them for a while and letting them sink in- letting herself understand them better- before she did anything drastic.

She could still spend time with Baekhyun and let herself feel a thrill when Baekhyun’s thin fingers circled her wrist. She could allow herself to have hope when Baekhyun smiled at her and asked if she wanted to do something that weekend.

She could let herself fall for a bit longer before she did anything about it.

And in the meantime, she could enjoy the way it had her stomach twisting into knots and her heart beating loudly in her chest- imagining what it might be like if Baekhyun liked her too.

 

___

 

“We sold a lot yesterday,” Baekhyun was telling her as she accompanied Joonmyun to her locker after school, “But you and I definitely sold more on Tuesday.”

Baekhyun had already told her that in a text message the previous afternoon as soon as she and Chanyeol had packed everything up, but Joonmyun didn’t mind hearing it from her again- her chest filling with warmth at the fact that Baekhyun was so pleased by their teamwork.

“I hope Zitao and Sehun can manage today,” Baekhyun went on, leaning against the locker next to Joonmyun’s as Joonmyun dug through her own to find the notebooks she’d need for her homework that night.

“I think they’ll be okay,” Joonmyun told her, looking through her planner to make sure she wasn’t forgetting about any assignments.

“I’m pretty sure they can keep their hands off each other long enough to sell cookies for an hour, but you never know,” Baekhyun said, voice slightly muffled since she was on the other side of Joonmyun’s open locker door, “I mean, I’m _ninety_ percent sure they won’t start making out while there’s a line of students waiting to buy something?”

Joonmyun snorted, pulling her coat off its hook and shrugging it over her shoulders.

“How’s the faux-lesbian lifestyle?” Minseok asked jokingly, walking up just as Joonmyun slammed her locker closed and revealed Baekhyun where she was standing.

Minseok paused, mouth dropping open. Joonmyun froze, eyes wide as she stared at Minseok in alarm. Baekhyun was silent, and Joonmyun was too afraid to turn her head to see her reaction.

“I mean-” Minseok started when no one said anything right away, but Baekhyun cut her off.

“What?” she asked, sounding almost like she was afraid to hear an answer, “ _Faux_ -lesbian lifestyle?”

Joonmyun couldn’t move, the rushing in her ears almost drowning out Baekhyun’s voice. This wasn’t supposed to ever happen. Fuck. This was not supposed to happen.

“Joonmyun,” Baekhyun prompted, voice taking on an angry edge at Joonmyun’s lack of response.

Her reaction to Minseok’s words must have made it obvious that they were true, even if she she hadn’t said anything.

Joonmyun finally turned her head to look at Baekhyun, seeing a mix of hurt, confusion, and anger on her face- lips turned down and eyes looking at her in a way that made her stomach feel like it was full of ice.

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. There was nothing she could say, she realized, to even attempt to fix this situation.

Baekhyun’s eyes hardened.

“I see,” she said, voice cold and sounding nothing like the fun-loving girl that Joonmyun had gotten to know, and Joonmyun winced.

Before she could even try to form some sort of apology or explanation, Baekhyun turned on her heel and walked away- pace clipped so they Joonmyun would have had to jog to catch up to her by the time her brain had even half processed Baekhyun’s exit.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry,” Minseok was saying, at Joonmyun’s side and holding on to her arm, “I shouldn’t have said that. Holy shit. I’m _so sorry_. I don’t even know what to say. I’m a piece of shit. Can I do anything? Fuck. Joonmyun, I’m sorry.”

Joonmyun shook her head, unable to feel even an ounce of anger at Minseok for her actions. Everything was overshadowed by the roiling in her stomach from the look on Baekhyun’s face when she’d realized that Joonmyun had been lying.

“I can try to talk to her, or something?” Minseok said desperately, “I can tell her I was kidding? Or that I just didn’t believe you? Or...or…”

“No,” Joonmyun shook her head again, voice hollow, “It’s no use. She knows it’s true from my reaction. There’s no point.”

“Shit. Seriously, I am so sorry,” Minseok said again, and Joonmyun interrupted her before she could beat herself up any more about it.

“I’m not mad,” she told her honestly, stomach sinking down past her feet and through the floor as she acknowledged what had really just happened, “It’s my fault. I’m the one who lied. You told me it was a bad idea from the start and you were right. If I hadn’t done that, this wouldn’t have happened. It’s…” Joonmyun took a breath, heart heavier than she could ever remember it being, “It’s all my fault.”

Minseok was quiet, and Joonmyun tried to figure out what to do next. She should go home and...think. Maybe she could call Baekhyun later and explain herself. Not that any explanation would make her lie less selfish.

But she just needed to...go. She couldn’t keep standing there and staring down the hall that Baekhyun had disappeared down like she might come back. She definitely wasn’t coming back.

“I’m gonna go home,” Joonmyun said, trying to keep her voice steady even as she felt her insides trembling with panic, “I have a test tomorrow in stats so…”

“Let me know if I can do anything,” Minseok told her, and Joonmyun nodded- attempting to shoot her a grateful smile, but pretty sure that it came out a grimace instead.

As she walked home, glancing around constantly like maybe Baekhyun had miraculously decided to wait for her to hear her out, Joonmyun felt the weight of what she’d done settle heavier and heavier on her shoulders.

She’d really ruined everything.

 

\---

 

Joonmyun knew that there was really nothing that she could say to Baekhyun to make what she’d done okay, but she had to try.

As soon as she’d gotten home, she’d gone to her room and closed the door behind her- dialing Baekhyun’s number immediately and feeling disappointed, but unsurprised when it went to voicemail.

She hung up before the beep and decided to text her instead of leaving a message.

_I know you must be mad, and I don’t blame you. But please call me._

Joonmyun deleted the text before she sent it. Why tell Baekhyun that she knew she must be mad? She’d _seen_ Baekhyun get angry at her. What a stupid thing to say.

She tried again.

_Baekhyun, I am so sorry. There is nothing I can say to justify my actions, but I never meant to hurt you._

Joonmyun deleted that one even more quickly than the first.

She didn’t want to _assume_ that Baekhyun was hurt, since she’d never said it. That implied that her actions had that much power over Baekhyun’s emotions and that seemed presumptuous.

_I don’t deserve it, but please forgive me._

No. Baekhyun knew she didn’t deserve it. She didn’t need to tell her that.

_I’m sorry. Please call me._

It didn’t nearly encompass everything Joonmyun needed to say, but it was to the point, so after a moment’s hesitation, she hit send.

 

Baekhyun never called.

 

\---

 

After waiting for an hour for Baekhyun to reply, Joonmyun had decided to try a different tactic.

First, she had tried to call Chanyeol, but there was no answer. Initially, she’d thought that maybe Chanyeol was busy with volleyball things, but when she still couldn’t get a hold of her an hour later, she had to admit that there was a really good chance that Baekhyun had told her what had happened and that Chanyeol was ignoring her too.

If Chanyeol knew, it was likely that Zitao and Sehun knew as well, but she had still tried to call both of them to no avail.

By the time she’d gone to bed after doing a barely adequate job on her homework, Joonmyun had been fairly sure that they all knew and that they all were ignoring her. Still, she’d held out hope that she’d get to talk to them the next day.

But when she saw Zitao and Sehun in the hall the next morning, it became clear that that wasn’t going to happen. Sehun merely looked away and refused to make eye contact with her, lips set in a thin line, but Zitao’s gaze was murderous.

Joonmyun shrunk under her stare.

Later, after third period, she saw Chanyeol as she usually did. However, that day, Chanyeol’s brows knitted together as soon as she saw Joonmyun and she resolutely looked away- hastening her pace to distance herself.

Joonmyun’s heart sunk.

Since Zitao, Sehun, and Chanyeol all appeared to know, Joonmyun had been half expecting the fact that she’d lied to be all over the school, but it wasn’t. No one seemed to know anything was different outside of the five of them. So, that was...somewhat of a relief. But Joonmyun was too busy feeling like shit to even appreciate it.

When she left her fifth period class, Joonmyun braced herself- trying to mentally prepare herself for the pain that she was going to feel at the sight of Baekhyun ignoring her when they passed in the hall like they did every day.

She thought that seeing Baekhyun snub her would be the worst feeling that she could have right then. But it turned out that not seeing her at all was worse.

Theoretically, Joonmyun knew that Baekhyun might not have even been at school that day, but she was willing to bet that Baekhyun _was_ there. Except, instead of simply looking away when she saw her, Baekhyun hadn’t even wanted to so much as see her, so she’d gone out of her way to avoid her completely.

And that hurt the worst of all.

“They hate me,” Joonmyun said miserably during lunch, slumped over the cafeteria table next to Minseok.

“They might not _hate_ you,” Minseok tried, “Give it a little time. They’re angry.”

“I deserve to be hated,” Joonmyun morosely told the tabletop, not having touched her food.

“You did a dumb thing,” Minseok reasoned, pausing to take a bite of her lunch, “But you’re not a terrible person. They’ll forgive you.”

“Minseok,” Joonmyun said, sitting up straight to look her friend in the eye, “I deceived them for _months_! I don’t think I can count on being forgiven for that.”

“Well…” Minseok shrugged, looking unsure of what to say when Joonmyun was clearly not open to optimism, “You never know,” she finally finished.

Joonmyun groaned and buried her face in her arms, trying not to let herself replay Baekhyun walking away from her yesterday like she never wanted to see her again.

She knew that Minseok meant well, but Minseok couldn’t have understood just how horrible she was feeling. She certainly didn’t know that Joonmyun was heartbroken on top of it all.

Swallowing down a wave of anxiety, Joonmyun tried to reason with herself.

They had a student council meeting on Monday. They’d _have_ to talk to her then. And then maybe she could apologize and let them know just how terrible she felt for lying.

If she just made it through the weekend, she could try to set things right.

Maybe Minseok was right. Maybe there was hope.

 

\---

 

The only thing worse than passing people in the hall and seeing them intentionally ignore her was sitting in a room for an hour with four people who would barely even look at her.

It was also the first time Joonmyun had seen Baekhyun since the incident, and to have her acting like she wasn’t even there hurt more than Joonmyun was prepared for.

Their faculty advisor was present for the first half hour, so they hadn’t been freezing her out quite so blatantly then (though Baekhyun hadn’t even glanced in her direction), but once they were left alone, there was nothing stopping them from snubbing her completely.  
Joonmyun was dying to interrupt their discussion about the speaker that was scheduled for that Friday to beg for forgiveness, but she had a feeling that doing that would only make it worse.

And when she’d tried to say something student council related, Baekhyun had talked right over her- her back to Joonmyun as she spoke to the other three girls.

Joonmyun felt like she’d been punched in the stomach.

It was hard to believe that, just a week prior, Baekhyun had turned to look at her after nearly everything she said to get her reaction. And that she’d caught Joonmyun’s eye more than once just to shoot her a conspiratorial smile- like they were in on something that no one else was privy to.

But now…

The atmosphere of the meeting was entirely different too. Usually, they were all joking and laughing together, but that day, no one even smiled.

Baekhyun didn’t make any sarcastic comments, Chanyeol was sitting quietly in her seat, and Zitao and Sehun weren’t snarking and cuddling like they usually were. The only shred of normalcy was their clasped hands under the table.

Joonmyun wanted to cry because she’d done this. She’d taken something great and stepped on it until it was unrecognizable.

Her lie had ruined the friendship the five of them shared and Joonmyun felt as sorry to the other girls as she did sad for herself and what she’d lost.

By the end of the meeting, Joonmyun just wanted to go home and crawl in bed and never come out from under the covers.

Looking up as the other girls packed up their things quickly, her own movements sluggish and heavy, she briefly caught Chanyeol’s eye- surprised to see what looked like it could have been sympathy- before Baekhyun grabbed Chanyeol’s arm and dragged her out of the classroom without so much as a glance in Joonmyun’s direction.

Originally, Joonmyun had wanted to corner Baekhyun after the meeting and try to apologize, but it was clear that Baekhyun wasn’t interested in what she had to say.

With a heavy heart, Joonmyun walked slowly home- missing Baekhyun’s presence beside her and feeling the last of her hope that she could fix this slipping away.

 

\---

 

It had been two days since she’d seen Baekhyun at the student council meeting and six days since Baekhyun had stopped talking to her, and Joonmyun was miserable.

She knew that Minseok must have been tired of her sulking, but she couldn’t help it. Whenever she saw Chanyeol, Sehun, or Zitao in the hall and they ignored her, she felt her stomach twist in regret. And the fact that she wasn’t seeing Baekhyun at all was killing her. It had been six days since she’d seen her smile and she missed her.

“Joonmyun,” Minseok sighed, turning around in her desk chair to face Joonmyun where she was flopped on Minseok’s bed, “You can’t be miserable forever. You have to _function_.”

“I’m upset,” Joonmyun defended, voice muffled by the way her face was half buried in her arms.

“I can see that,” Minseok told her, “But you’ve been acting like someone died. You made a mistake and you’re obviously sorry. Don’t beat yourself up about it forever! They can forgive you or they can choose not to, but you have to go back to your life. This isn’t normal!”

Joonmyun frowned. “It’s not just that I’m beating myself up,” she tried to explain, “I mean, I _am_ , but I’m really sad too.”

“Well, that’s understandable,” Minseok said, looking at her in sympathy, “You guys were all getting to be good friends. It sucks that they’re not talking to you.”

Joonmyun nodded, but knew that Minseok still didn’t really understand.

“I miss them,” Joonmyun told her, and Minseok’s face creased in concern as she came to sit next to Joonmyun on the bed and rest a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Of course,” Minseok agreed.

“I miss Baekhyun,” Joonmyun admitted and her stomach clenched with the truth of that statement.

“You guys were getting pretty close, huh?” Minseok said, rubbing Joonmyun’s back, though Joonmyun could tell that Minseok was confused by her behavior. This wasn’t like her. She never got like this.

“Yeah,” she confirmed glumly.

“I guess you’ll have to slum it with me, for now,” Minseok joked, trying to lighten the mood, but Joonmyun wasn’t missing Baekhyun like she’d have missed Minseok.

Minseok was her best friend, and Baekhyun was...Joonmyun felt her heart flutter even as it cracked.

“I like her, Minseok,” Joonmyun finally said, uncaring of the fact that the idea of her liking a girl romantically wasn’t something that Minseok would have been expecting to hear.

“Of course you do. She’s your-”

“No,” Joonmyun interrupted, “I _like_ her.”

Minseok looked at her with wide eyes like she was trying to discern if she’d understood correctly.

“You like her like-”

“Yes,” Joonmyun confirmed, knowing what Minseok was going to say, “I really like her.”

She buried her face in her arms again, heart pounding at the weight of her admission. She was pretty sure Minseok would be okay with it, but…

“Well,” Minseok finally said, “That would definitely make this whole thing more upsetting.”

Joonmyun snorted humorlessly.

“Does she know?”

Joonmyun shook her head.

“So, she found out you lied about being a lesbian to get into student council, but meanwhile you actually developed feelings for her, but she doesn’t know, and now she’s pissed and thinks you don’t like girls?” Minseok summarized.

Joonmyun nodded again.

“Wow,” Minseok marvelled, and yeah- it was pretty fucked up, “Shit. I’m really sorry. If I hadn’t said that-”

“No,” Joonmyun cut her off, “It’s my fault. Totally my fault. They probably would have found out that I was lying at some point. This was inevitable.”

“Still,” Minseok sighed, “This sucks.”

“It does,” Joonmyun agreed.

But she felt a little better now that she’d told someone how she felt and just why she was so upset about Baekhyun not talking to her. It was nice to have a friend to help shoulder the burden.

“Were you gonna tell her?” Minseok asked after a moment of quiet.

“Not right away,” Joonmyun told her, “I hadn’t really decided what to do about it yet, but now...I wish I could tell her.”

Minseok nodded, “Maybe you can still tell her at some point.”

“Maybe,” Joonmyun repeated, but she didn’t feel too hopeful.

At least it appeared that Minseok wasn’t weirded out at all by her having feelings for a girl.

“Are you- does it bother you?” Joonmyun asked, just needing to make sure.

“Does what bother me?”

“The fact that I like a girl?” Joonmyun clarified, the admission still feeling weird on her tongue.

Minseok quirked a brow and gave her a look.

“Hi, I’m your best friend, Minseok,” she said dryly, “Nice to meet you.”

Joonmyun let out a chuckle at that and found herself smiling. Actually smiling.

“Thanks,” she said, not knowing how to put into words how grateful she was for Minseok’s friendship. Neither of them were the sappy type. At least not with each other.

But Minseok’s grin and playful cuff on the shoulder told her that she understood.

“Anytime, bro,” she said, and Joonmyun laughed outright at that.

At least some things were as they should be.

 

\---

 

The day of the speaker came, and Joonmyun felt none of the excitement she’d been feeling when they’d first gotten the okay from the faculty. Instead, she just felt sick that she’d have to spend the afternoon being reminded over and over that Baekhyun hated her.

As they worked to set up the gym for the speaker during seventh period, Joonmyun only got sentence fragments from the others if they needed her to do something, and she never got them directly from Baekhyun. If she’d had any doubt before, it was very clear that, while Sehun, Zitao, and Chanyeol were angry, Baekhyun was _furious_.

Joonmyun couldn’t even blame her.

When the students had all filed in and the gym was filled to the brim with bodies and backpacks and noise, Baekhyun took the microphone and walked to the middle of the floor.

Even though Baekhyun hadn’t looked at her once, Joonmyun couldn’t help but take in everything from her low-top converse, all the way up to her chocolate brown hair that shone under the florescent lighting. She’d gotten used to seeing Baekhyun everyday, and now that she had only seen her two times in that entire week, she felt starved.

Joonmyun felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, but she didn’t check it since she was in the front row. She figured it was a text from Minseok who had been sending her messages of encouragement all afternoon. Joonmyun tried to focus on the fact that her best friend was in the room somewhere, sending her support, instead of on how much it hurt to watch Baekhyun smile at the room full of students like she no longer smiled at her.

“Hello, everyone,” she said, voice loud in the quieting room, “It’s my honor to introduce a very special guest-”

The meaning of what Baekhyun was saying was drowned out by how much she ached to have Baekhyun back in her life. But she knew Baekhyun’s introduction by heart, anyway. She’d helped her write it, after all.

Listening to Baekhyun’s voice project from the speakers, Joonmyun watched the way Baekhyun’s pink lips formed her words and the way her canine teeth came to a noticeable point and made her look like a puppy when she smiled.

She took in the way Baekhyun’s pretty, slender fingers wrapped around the microphone, and how her eyes crinkled as she grinned at the speaker- passing off the mic and hurrying back to her seat next to Chanyeol- a full three people away from her; the maximum distance possible in the current situation.

Joonmyun had been prepared to spend the duration of the assembly replaying all the ways Baekhyun had ignored her that afternoon and feeling sorry for herself, but the speaker was charismatic and she found herself completely immersed in what he was saying.

A glance to her right revealed that the other girls were just as interested, and she hoped that the rest of the student body was enjoying it as well. Even though Baekhyun wasn’t speaking to her, Joonmyun was so happy for her that this had all come together and been such a success. She knew how much it meant to Baekhyun.

So, as the students clapped and Baekhyun stood to thank the speaker, Joonmyun smiled- happy to see the joy on Baekhyun’s face, even if she knew she wouldn’t get to share that joy with her.

 

\---

 

After suffering through another student council meeting wherein she was ignored-having had to watch Baekhyun celebrate the success of the speaker with the other girls and not even acknowledge her- Joonmyun was feeling extremely low, despite Minseok’s best efforts to cheer her up.

It was clear that Baekhyun’s anger at her had not abated, and Joonmyun had all but given up on ever even being able to apologize properly.

“Joonmyun?” she heard when she was packing up her things at the end of the day, and she whipped around fast enough that she hit herself in the face with her hair. She was not expecting to hear her name said with that voice.

“Yeah?” she answered nervously, wondering if she was about to be chewed out or not.

“We should probably talk,” Chanyeol said, and Joonmyun nodded, “Let’s go in a classroom or something for some privacy.”

Compliantly, Joonmyun followed Chanyeol to an empty Spanish classroom- leaning uncomfortably against the chalkboard as she waited for Chanyeol to start.

“Baekhyun would kill me for talking to you,” Chanyeol told her, and Joonmyun winced, “But I thought it was only fair to get your side of the story.”

“Thank you,” Joonmyun said, grateful for the opportunity to explain, even if she suspected it wouldn’t make a difference in the long run. What she’d done was wrong regardless of her reasons.

“You’ve obviously been suffering these past few weeks, too, so…”

Joonmyun blew out a breath, “I am so, so sorry,” she began, “I should never have lied to you guys. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I was selfish, and I regret it so much.”

“I could tell you were sorry,” Chanyeol acknowledged, and Joonmyun had to hold herself back from asking if Baekhyun had noticed she was sorry too, “I’m really angry and disappointed in what you did, but in theory, I’d be able to forgive you, I think.”

“Thank you, I-”

“But,” Chanyeol cut her off, brows furrowed, “Baekhyun feels too betrayed to do that, and my loyalty is with her, so we can’t be friends.”

Joonmyun felt like her blood had been replaced with ice water- her stomach turning at the confirmation of what she’d already suspected.

“I’m sorry it has to end this way,” Chanyeol told her, a hand on her shoulder, and it was only then that Joonmyun realized that there were tears on her cheeks.

“I’m sorry I betrayed your trust,” Joonmyun said, voice shaky, “You guys were so welcoming and nice, and I ruined everything.”

Chanyeol rubbed her back as she spoke, and Joonmyun couldn’t believe the sympathy she was getting from someone she had wronged. It only made her cry harder.

“I just want you to know that, aside from my sexuality, everything else I told you was the truth. I wasn’t pretending to be friends with you guys, or anything,” she told her, knowing it wouldn’t make a difference, but wanting Chanyeol to know all the same, “I really like all of you, and you guys didn’t deserve to be lied to.”

“I never thought you were pretending to be friends with us,” Chanyeol assured her, “I wish things could be different, but Baekhyun is really hurt. She’s been listening to nothing but _Bad Blood_ by Taylor Swift for almost two weeks. It’s serious.”

Joonmyun didn’t really know what Chanyeol was talking about, but the fact that she’d hurt Baekhyun so much made her chest ache.

“I know you’re not supposed to be talking to me, but can you tell Baekhyun that I’m really sorry?” she begged, “And Sehun and Zitao, of course.”

Chanyeol nodded, “Okay, I’ll tell them.”

“And tell Baekhyun that I miss her,” she went on, unable to stop herself, “And that she’s an amazing person.”

“Okay-”

“And tell her that she deserves so much better than how I treated her. And that she’s beautiful and smart and funny and that she should never settle.”

“Um…” Chanyeol was looking at her like she’d lost her mind, “Do you…”

She trailed off, chewing on her lower lip as her eyebrows furrowed like she was trying to figure out if she should finish her sentence or not.

“Do you have _feelings_ for Baekhyun?” Chanyeol asked, “Like, non-friendship feelings?”

Joonmyun figured that there was no point in denying it, so she nodded.

“Shit,” Chanyeol swore, and Joonmyun really didn’t know what to do with that reaction, “I thought you lied about being a lesbian.”

“So did I,” Joonmyun admitted, “I mean, I guess I’m technically bi. I just...I’d never had feelings for a girl before, so I didn’t realize.”

Chanyeol raked her fingers through her hair and blew out a breath, looking agitated and conflicted.

Joonmyun had never seen her like this.

“You need to tell her,” she finally said, looking at Joonmyun so intensely that Joonmyun wondered if someone else had taken over Chanyeol’s body.

“That I like her?”

“Yes,” Chanyeol confirmed, eyes boring into Joonmyun’s.

“But she doesn’t want to talk to me,” Joonmyun reminded Chanyeol, wiping the remaining wetness from her cheeks.

“Find a way,” Chanyeol told her firmly, and Joonmyun nodded- dumbfounded, “Promise me you’ll tell her.”

“I promise,” Joonmyun said, still entirely unsure of how she was supposed to accomplish that when Baekhyun wouldn’t look at her.

“Good,” Chanyeol nodded, satisfied, and the uncharacteristic intensity faded from her gaze, “I have to go to volleyball practice now. Good luck!”

Joonmyun blinked, sniffling a little, and trying to figure out what had just happened.

She didn’t know whether to feel defeated or hopeful.

Staring at the sun-faded pinata hanging near the window, Joonmyun knew she had to come with a way to make Baekhyun hear her out. She didn’t have a clue how she’d make it happen, but she resolved that she would.

If Chanyeol thought that Baekhyun needed to hear that Joonmyun liked her, then she’d tell her. Even if it was just to have Baekhyun reject her and tell her to get out of her life, she’d do it.

She’d do it for Baekhyun.

With a surprising amount of clarity, Joonmyun realized that there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for her. And that just made her even more determined.

 

\---

 

Joonmyun was extremely grateful that Baekhyun didn’t tell her mom what had happened between them because Mrs. Byun easily pointed her in the direction of Baekhyun’s room with a smile when Joonmyun had shown up at the door.

It was definitely good because showing up at Baekhyun’s house had been her only plan. Had she been turned away, she’d have been completely clueless about what to try next.

As it was, Joonmyun was relieved, but also terrified as she stood outside Baekhyun’s door, trying to muster up the courage to knock.

No matter what, she had to tell Baekhyun how sorry she was, and also that she had feelings for her. Even if Baekhyun still hated her afterward, she had to make her listen. She couldn’t just walk away from this forever, and not tell Baekhyun how she felt.

Taking a steadying breath, Joonmyun raised her hand and knocked on the closed door, feeling her stomach clench with nerves when she heard Baekhyun call out an easy _come in!_

As soon as Baekhyun saw her, her eyes hardened- mouth settling into a thin line.

It was not how Joonmyun wanted Baekhyun to react to her, but at least she was _looking_ at her.

“Get out,” Baekhyun said as Joonmyun closed the door behind her to give them some privacy.

The first words Baekhyun had said to her in two weeks. They were better than nothing, even if the outright rejection stung.

“Please let me talk to you,” Joonmyun pleaded, taking a couple steps toward Baekhyun’s bed where she was sitting with her homework.

“Why should I?” Baekhyun challenged, eyes narrowed.

Joonmyun hated that she couldn’t help but think how beautiful she was even though Baekhyun was looking at her like she hated her.

Worse was that, through the anger, she could see hurt, and it pained her to know that it was caused by her.

“Because you deserve an apology,” Joonmyun told her honestly.

“I don’t need anything from you.”

Joonmyun winced.

“Please.”

Baekhyun regarded her for a moment before she nodded, jaw still tight.

Joonmyun let out a breath of relief, but felt herself panicking anew when she realized that this was it- probably her only chance to tell Baekhyun how she felt.

“I am so, so sorry,” she began and Baekhyun frowned even harder, “It was selfish of me to lie. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I-”

“Why did you do it?” Baekhyun gritted out, hands clenched into fists.

“Because I wanted to be on student council,” Joonmyun admitted, and Baekhyun looked like she wanted to scream.

“You would have been on student council regardless!” Baekhyun exclaimed, “No one else qualified was even running for your position! There weren’t even any other lesbians to run!”

Joonmyun faltered. The thought _had_ occurred to her, but at the time, she hadn’t wanted to take the chance that Baekhyun would run her out of the election for not being a lesbian. Now, her reasoning sounded so stupid.

“I’m sorry,” Joonmyun said again, at a loss, “I didn’t think-”

“And it isn’t just that you lied to all of us for months,” Baekhyun interrupted, “Even though that was an extremely shitty thing to do. But the fact that you lied about being gay for your own gain? I can’t even _begin_ to tell you how insensitive that is. Because you could just walk away when it was no longer convenient for you, while people who are _actually_ gay can’t just drop the label when it gets inconvenient. And it’s inconvenient _a lot_. ”

“I know, I-”

“No,” Baekhyun snapped, standing up from where she was seated on her bed as she got more worked up, “You _don’t_ know. You don’t have to deal with not knowing what to say when an acquaintance or a stranger asks if you have a boyfriend and then keeps pressing for details if you say no. I either have to _lie_ or come out repeatedly to people I barely know who might react negatively. It’s pretty inconvenient then.

“And at Christmas dinner last year, I got to listen to my conservative grandmother make _multiple_ comments about how she was _praying for my soul_ since I was living a life of _sin_. On _Christmas_. Being gay was pretty fucking inconvenient _then_ , too!” Baekhyun seethed, and Joonmyun winced at the force of her words as well as the truth to them.

She’d never really thought about why, aside from the fact that she was being dishonest, lying about her sexuality was so offensive. But with Baekhyun glaring at her with tear-filled eyes that she was refusing to let spill over, Joonmyun finally understood. Or understood as much as she could without actually experiencing the world through Baekhyun’s perspective. And maybe acknowledging the fact that she could never _fully_ understand was the most understanding she could be.

She felt like the lowest human being on the planet.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, shrinking under Baekhyun’s angry stare, “I never- I didn’t- I’m really sorry.”

“Yeah, well,” Baekhyun shrugged, blinking rapidly to dispel her tears, “That’s great for you. You can get out now.”

Joonmyun was so tempted to do just that. She felt like there was nothing she could ever say or do that could even begin to right her wrongs, but she’d promised Chanyeol that she’d tell Baekhyun her feelings. She’d promised. And even though she and Chanyeol couldn’t be friends anymore, and even though Baekhyun would probably tell her that she’d rather date anything but her, Joonmyun intended to keep that promise.

“I just have one more thing to say,” she told Baekhyun meekly, “And after that, I’ll leave and I won’t ever bother you again. I’ll drop out of student council if you want. Anything. Just. Just let me say one thing.”

She knew it was the offer to drop out of student council that had gotten Baekhyun by the way she appeared like she was going to tell Joonmyun _no_ until she’d said that. It was no secret how much student council meant to Joonmyun, so Baekhyun knew the significance of her dropping out for the benefit of Baekhyun and the others.

“Fine,” Baekhyun relented, sounding half angry and half exhausted, “What?”

Joonmyun sucked in a breath. This was it. This was when she’d tell Baekhyun the whole truth. It would be the first time she’d ever confess her feelings to anyone. And it would probably be the last time she’d talk to Baekhyun.

“When I first decided to run for student council and when I first lied about being a lesbian, it was a complete lie,” she began, forcing herself to keep going when Baekhyun’s frown deepened, “At that point, I’d never had feelings for a girl or considered being in a romantic relationship with a girl.”

Baekhyun huffed, seeming to be getting impatient, so Joonmyun decided to get to the point. As much as she wasn’t looking forward to being rejected.

“But now,” she continued, “After spending so much time with all of you-”

“If you tell me that you’re magically a lesbian now, I swear to-”

“Not a lesbian,” Joonmyun cut her off, feeling a spike of anxiety at Baekhyun’s anger, “But maybe bi? I guess?”

Baekhyun scoffed, “If you think that’s going to get you points so we all stop ignoring you, you are mistaken.”

Joonmyun shook her head.

“I just wanted you to know the entire truth,” she told her, “You deserve to know the whole truth after I lied to you for so long. So, here it is: I have feelings for you.”

Joonmyun felt dizzy with the rush of adrenaline that had come with the admission.

She didn’t know what she’d been expecting Baekhyun to say- maybe tell her she wasn’t interested or that she didn’t care- but she hadn’t expected the derisive laugh.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Baekhyun laughed, though there was no humor in it, “You thought you could come over here and confess to having feelings for me and I’d, what? Return them? Feel sorry for you? Forgive you because you like women now? _Please_.”

Joonmyun had been prepared for rejection, but it hurt more than she’d thought it would.

“It’s not-” she said quietly, mortified by the shake in her voice, “I didn’t expect any of that. I didn’t tell you so you’d forgive me. I just thought you should know.”

Baekhyun made a disbelieving sound, and Joonmyun felt her heart break.

“You expect me to believe that you _actually_ like me?” she asked, arms crossed over her chest and a look of indifference on her face.

“I know you have no reason to believe me,” Joonmyun admitted, voice wavering as she choked back a sob, “But I’m telling you the truth. I wouldn’t put myself through _this_ ,” she gestured between them, “if I didn’tmean it.”

Baekhyun’s unaffected demeanor cracked a little.

“I don’t want to be some straight girl’s experiment,” she bit out, but her eyes were unsure underneath her anger.

“Baekhyun,” Joonmyun pleaded, feeling her tears finally overflow and drip down her cheeks, “It’s not that at all! Getting to know you and spend time with you over the past few months has been amazing. It’s been so great that I _almost_ don’t regret lying because I don’t know if we would have gotten so close if I hadn’t. Almost, because I _hate_ myself for how much I hurt you.

“It’s true that I never gave any thought to dating a girl before, but I’ve also never felt this way about anyone. I know it sounds so stupid, and you probably don’t believe me, but it’s true. I mean, I broke up with my boyfriend just to be on student council and I barely felt anything. But you ignoring me these past few weeks has been _torture_!

“I missed seeing you everyday in the hall. I missed your smile and your pointy, puppy teeth. I missed joking with you and working with you and having you in my space all the time. I missed your fingers around my wrist when you dragged me around, even if you fingers are always cold. And I missed watching you banter with and insult your friends, even though you would do anything for them at the drop of a hat. I missed your loud laugh and your text messages and walking home with you and watching horror movies with you even though I hate horror movies.”

Not sure how to interpret the expression on Baekhyun’s face, Joonmyun took a breath and continued.

“I missed you so much, and I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. But please know that I’m being completely honest with you now when I tell you that...I think I’m falling in love with you,” Joonmyun closed her eyes momentarily, feeling fresh tears slide down her cheeks as her lower lip quavered on another sob that she couldn’t help but let out.

She sniffled, wiping at her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

“I’ll go now,” she said, resigned to her fate, but glad that she’d at least gotten everything out in the open. She had enough regrets as it was. She didn’t need to add to that list by never telling Baekhyun how she felt.

“You know,” Baekhyun said, sounding less angry, but Joonmyun was still afraid to look her in the eye, “For such a pretty girl, you sure are ugly when you cry.”

That hadn’t even been on the short list of what she was expecting Baekhyun to say, and the surprise had her snapping her head up to see Baekhyun’s lips pulling up into a playful smile.

Joonmyun didn’t dare to hope.

Turning to grab tissues from her bedside table, Baekhyun closed the distance between them to hand over the wad in her fist.

Gratefully, Joonmyun took them and dabbed at her face, turning away to blow her nose in what, she was sure, was a very unattractive manner.

“Okay, now that you’re a little less...drippy,” Baekhyun said when Joonmyun had tossed her used tissues into Baekhyun’s wastebin, “Let’s sit down and talk.”

Joonmyun followed Baekhyun to her bed and perched on the edge- too shocked to say anything. She had been ready to leave as soon as she’d finished saying her piece, and now Baekhyun was inviting her to sit down?

She was so, so afraid to hope.

Baekhyun was looking at her thoughtfully- really looking at her- and Joonmyun found it hard not to fidget under her gaze. She didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m still mad at you,” Baekhyun finally said, though Joonmyun was relieved that the statement was lacking the bite that much of what she said earlier had.

“I’m mad at me, too,” Joonmyun admitted, sniffling again, but not wanting to have to make Baekhyun wait while she blew her nose.

“But,” Baekhyun paused, and Joonmyun felt like she was holding her breath, “I think we can move past it. I want to move past it.”

Joonmyun felt her eyes well up again in relief, this time.

“No,” Baekhyun chided, “Nope. No more crying. You are going to get snot all over everything in my room, Joonmyun. I swear to god.”

Laughing, Joonmyun felt a few tears escape, but Baekhyun was smiling too- looking a little unsure, but also like she didn’t hate her.

Baekhyun’s eyelids lowered slightly as she looked at Joonmyun’s lips and then back up, eyes filled with hesitancy. But then she leaned forward and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to Joonmyun’s lips- pausing just long enough for Joonmyun to kiss back, before she pulled away with flushed cheeks and eyes that kept darting around like she didn’t know where to look.

“Did you mean it?” Baekhyun asked quietly, looking at her imploringly, and even though the question was out of nowhere, Joonmyun knew what she meant.

“Yeah,” she breathed, still dizzy from the feel of Baekhyun’s lips against hers.

Baekhyun nodded. “I...like you too. I have for a while,” she looked down at her lap, playing with the drawstring on her sweatpants, “That’s why I was so angry with you. Because I felt like we had gotten close and that maybe you liked me too. But then...I thought that all of that had been a lie, too.”

Joonmyun hastily shook her head even though Baekhyun wasn’t looking at her, “I really, really like you,” she said again, feeling like she couldn’t say it enough now that Baekhyun was listening.

Finally meeting her eyes again, Baekhyun smiled.

“What is this about you hating horror movies, though?” she asked, and Joonmyun groaned.

“They give me nightmares,” she admitted, smacking Baekhyun’s knee when the other girl cackled.

“Aw, I told you I’d protect you,” she teased, leaning back against her pillows and knocking her foot against Joonmyun’s thigh.

“I don’t think you ever said that,” Joonmyun told her, laughing incredulously as Baekhyun somewhat hesitantly rested her feet in Joonmyun’s lap.

Even though she was being made fun of, the feeling of Baekhyun’s warmth against her, even if it was just from her feet, had her stomach twisting into pleasant knots and her heart beating giddily. She’d missed this so much.

“Wait, did _I’ll_ Always _Know What You Did Last Summer_ give you nightmares?”

“No,” Joonmyun snorted, “That was so terrible, it didn’t scare me.”

Baekhyun laughed, “Good. Because I would have judged you if it had. Even more than I am, now, I mean.”

Joonmyun rolled her eyes, “So much for protecting me, huh?”

“Hey, I can protect you _and_ judge you,” Baekhyun told her, “I’m multi-talented like that.”

“I see,” Joonmyun said, shooting Baekhyun a look of annoyance, even though she was buzzing with happiness inside.

Baekhyun grinned, pleased, and Joonmyun found herself returning the smile - too giddy not to.

She knew she still had a lot to make up for, but the fact that Baekhyun was willing to give her a chance was more than she could have hoped for.

With Baekhyun smiling at her again, Joonmyun felt like the luckiest girl alive.

 

\---

 

When Joonmyun arrived at her locker the next morning, she was surprised to find that Baekhyun was there waiting for her, wearing a short skirt and thick tights that showed off the shape of her legs.

“Good morning,” Baekhyun greeted her, smiling almost _shyly_.

“Good morning,” Joonmyun replied, not at all displeased to see Baekhyun before she expected to, but somewhat confused about why Baekhyun was acting...like a normal person instead of like herself.

Joonmyun did her locker combination and looked over to see Baekhyun watching everything she was doing with interest- lower lip pulled into her mouth.

This was the quietest she had ever seen Baekhyun, including when Baekhyun had been ignoring her.

“What’s up?” she asked with a small chuckle when Baekhyun still didn’t say anything.

Baekhyun shrugged before she laughed, shaking her head at herself.

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t change your mind,” Baekhyun admitted, letting out another self-deprecating laugh, though her eyes revealed that she was still a little worried.

“I didn’t change my mind,” Joonmyun assured her with a smile, and Baekhyun beamed, “Did you?”

Baekhyun scoffed, “I’m not that fickle, thank you.”

“Neither am I,” Joonmyun told her, laughing at Baekhyun’s haughty expression that only broke so she could grin at her.

“Good morning,” Minseok greeted them, walking up to her locker next to Joonmyun’s (it paid off having a best friend with the same last name).

“Does she know?” Baekhyun hissed as Minseok opened her locker and carefully unloaded her bag.

“She knows,” Joonmyun told her, loudly enough that Minseok could hear.

“She called me as soon as she left your house,” Minseok informed Baekhyun with an amused grin.

Baekhyun’s eyebrows shot up.

“She was _very_ excited,” Minseok added, and Baekhyun turned a smirk on Joonmyun.

“Really, now?” she asked, quirking a brow.

Joonmyun huffed, embarrassed.

“See if I tell you the next time something good happens to me,” she grumbled in Minseok’s direction.

“You will though,” Minseok said calmly with a self assured smile, closing her locker and shouldering her messenger bag.

“Maybe I’ll just tell Baekhyun,” she sniffed.

Baekhyun snorted. “If you’re trying to avoid getting made fun of, I’m not sure I’m the best alternative.” At Joonmyun’s betrayed look, she added, “Just saying.”

Minseok burst out laughing, smacking Joonmyun on the shoulder, “I like her.”

Baekhyun beamed.

“Alright, kids, I’m off to class,” Minseok announced, “See you later!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Joonmyun waved her off, cheeks still flushed from what Minseok had revealed, as well as Baekhyun’s self satisfied expression that had followed.

“So, are you heading off to your first period class now?” Baekhyun asked, back to being uncharacteristically timid.

Joonmyun glanced at her watch. “Yeah, in the next couple minutes.”

“I could walk you,” Baekhyun offered, biting her lower lip.

Joonmyun was expecting some sort of crack at her expense. But it never came. Instead, Baekhyun just waited for her answer.

Unused to the sincerity, Joonmyun couldn’t help but tease.

“I think I can manage to find my way there myself,” Joonmyun told her with a smile, “So far this semester, I’ve had no incidents.”

Baekhyun scowled, “Fine. I can just go walk Chanyeol to class. Or maybe Zitao. Someone who will _appreciate_ my selfless deeds.”

“But I would love for you to accompany me,” Joonmyun went on, ignoring Baekhyun’s rambling.

“Maybe I don’t want to anymore,” Baekhyun said, making a face at her.

Joonmyun laughed, chest warm and filled with fondness for the girl wrinkling her nose at her.

“Come on, Baekhyun,” she said, grabbing her hand and dragging her in the direction of her first class, “I’ll walk you tomorrow.”

Baekhyun grinned, lacing their fingers together, “If you insist.”

 

\---

 

Joonmyun felt like she was floating the whole day. Just knowing that Baekhyun was talking to her again would have been enough to have her feeling giddy. But the fact that they were maybe dating had her trying to keep the ridiculous smile off her face while she took notes in her classes and listened to her teachers talk.

When she saw Baekhyun in the hall after fifth period, Baekhyun told her she would come to her locker after school. So Joonmyun had that as a shining beacon to look forward to at the end of the day.

It also appeared that she hadn’t been the only one who’d called up a friend the night before, because Zitao and Sehun both offered her small smiles when she saw them in the hall, and Chanyeol had given her a massive grin and an enthusiastic thumbs up.

She knew that it didn’t mean she was automatically forgiven, but the fact that she was being given a chance was more than she could have even hoped for just a day ago.

By the time Baekhyun met her after her last class, Joonmyun felt like her face might split in half from smiling. Especially after spending two weeks feeling like she’d barely smiled at all.

“My music theory teacher! Dear god!” Baekhyun exclaimed, slumping against the locker next to Joonmyun’s- zippers on her backpack clanging against the metal, “Does he think we take no other classes?”

Joonmyun snorted fondly at Baekhyun’s “greeting.”

“Nice to see you too,” she said wryly.

“Naturally,” Baekhyun replied with a toss of her hair and a smirk before she laughed at her own joke, “So how was your day?”

Joonmyun shrugged, not wanting exclaim over how happy she was that Baekhyun was talking to her and smiling at her and _dating_ her.

“Pretty uneventful, but good,” she settled on, but knew that she was grinning anyway.

“You have model UN today, don’t you?” Baekhyun asked, lower lip jutted out in a pout that was unfairly adorable. Especially when Joonmyun knew she could spit out biting (and admittedly, amusing) remarks with that same mouth.

“Yep,” she confirmed, closing her locker with a bang and turning to face Baekhyun.

“Let’s walk home together tomorrow,” Baekhyun said, as though they didn’t walk home together every day that neither of them had any extra curriculars and after every student council meeting, as well.

“Of course,” Joonmyun agreed with a grin, wondering how she’d stood it when Baekhyun hadn’t been talking to her and she’d had to walk home alone and watch her own breath puff in front of her with no one to make her forget about the cold.

Baekhyun made no move to head in the direction of the front doors to go home, and Joonmyun thought that Baekhyun might offer to walk her to model UN like she’d walked her to her first class. But Baekhyun wasn’t making any move in the direction of Joonmyun’s meeting either.

“So, I should probably get going,” Joonmyun tried, winter coat draped over her arm and her backpack on.

Baekhyun nodded, looking like she was thinking about something. Her brows were pinched just slightly and her teeth were clamped onto her lower lip.

Joonmyun was about to ask her what was up when she realized that Baekhyun was looking at her lips. Did she...want to kiss her? Now? There were a few students loitering in the hall and Joonmyun hadn’t thought that Baekhyun would want to engage in public displays of affection considering how much shit she gave Zitao and Sehun for doing it. But maybe…

Before she could talk herself out of it, Joonmyun reached forward and held onto Baekhyun’s shoulder as she leaned in and pressed a quick, soft kiss to Baekhyun’s lips.

When she pulled back, heart pounding and stomach fluttering like that had been her first kiss or something, Baekhyun’s completely shocked facial expression had her panicking. Maybe she’d misread her after all.

“I’m sorry. I should have asked,” she fretted, “You probably don’t-”

“No,” Baekhyun interrupted, hands flapping uselessly, “I just didn’t expect- I didn’t know if you’d be okay with people...knowing about us.”

Joonmyun frowned. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with that?”

Baekhyun shrugged, sheepish. “Just...because I’m a girl and all that,” she chuckled, and Joonmyun didn’t like how self-deprecating it sounded.

“I don’t care about that,” Joonmyun said, still confused as to why Baekhyun would think it was an issue, “People have thought I was a lesbian for months.”

“Yeah, but it was a theoretical until now,” Baekhyun explained, fidgeting as she talked, “Zitao and Sehun get a lot more shit than Chanyeol and I do.”

Baekhyun kept glancing around and bouncing on the balls of her feet like she thought that Joonmyun was going to change her mind about the whole thing.

“Baekhyun, I don’t care about that stuff,” Joonmyun reiterated, “What people think isn’t gonna make me like you any less.”

“Oh,” Baekhyun said before giggling a bit.

Joonmyun was still amazed that Baekhyun- confident, brash Baekhyun- could get this fluttery and nervous because of _her_.

“Well, you should go to your meeting,” Baekhyun told her, cheeks pink and smile wide enough that Joonmyun could see her pointy incisors. And then, before Joonmyun could blink, Baekhyun took a step forward and kissed her swiftly, immediately pulling back with a smile and a small wave, “I’ll probably talk to you tonight.”

Joonmyun grinned, knowing she was just as flushed, “Okay. See you tomorrow.”

Baekhyun waved again and then hurried down the hall, mini skirt swishing around her thighs.

A few of their classmates had probably seen that exchange and their relationship would be all over school by the next day, but Joonmyun couldn’t have cared less. As long as she and Baekhyun were in it together, nothing else mattered.

 

\---

 

“Sehun, you have to write thank you notes to the people who donated baked goods to the fundraiser,” Baekhyun said, exasperation obvious, “It’s been nearly a month.”

“I hate writing thank you notes, though,” Sehun whined, “And why do I have to do it? Why can’t we all write them or something?”

“It’s part of your job description!” Baekhyun exclaimed, tugging on her hair for theatrical purposes rather than because she was actually _that_ frustrated. Though Joonmyun could tell she was getting there.

“That’s awfully _convenient_ for you to say, isn’t it?” Sehun sniffed.

Baekhyun gaped, “It’s in my notes from the first day!”

“How can I trust that you’re not just trying to get out of writing thank you notes yourself?” Sehun challenged and Baekhyun made like she was going to wring Sehun’s neck.

“I actually have that in my notes too…” Joonmyun interjected from her seat next to Baekhyun.

Sehun pouted. “It’s not fair now that you’re dating. You can gang up on us.”

Baekhyun rolled her eyes.

“Is it, like, a conflict of interest?” Chanyeol wondered, even though she had expressed nothing but positivity about their relationship.

To be fair, Sehun had too, until she was being made to write thank you notes.

“If Joonmyun and me dating is a conflict of interest, then Zitao and Sehun dating is, too,” Baekhyun pointed out.

She was acting like they were on her last nerve. And maybe they were. But Joonmyun noticed the little sidelong glances she sent in her direction- eyes happy and lips curving up just slightly.

“It would be, but Sehun’s job isn’t important,” Zitao informed them with a smirk, putting her hand on Sehun’s knee.

“Hey!” Sehun protested, smacking Zitao’s hand away as Zitao laughed, “If my job isn’t important, then neither is yours!”

“My job is to manage the _money_ ,” Zitao reminded them, as if anyone had forgotten what a treasurer did, “That’s important. It’s certainly more important than Chanyeol’s job.”

“Why are you bringing me into this?”Chanyeol sulked, slouching down in her chair and looking like an overgrown kid.

“I’ve _told_ you all,” Baekhyun sighed, “The only important ones are Joonmyun and me. Now can we get back on task?”

Joonmyun smiled like Baekhyun was just crazy, but she couldn’t help the little flare of warmth in her chest at Baekhyun grouping them together. Plus, Baekhyun was grinning at her, and now that they were dating, Joonmyun could see the fondness in her eyes behind the amusement from teasing.

Zitao scoffed, but it was good natured, and Chanyeol appeared to be over Zitao’s insult since she was smiling widely at something on her phone.

It was hard to believe that just a week ago, Joonmyun had been miserable and sure that she would never be able to patch things up with Baekhyun and the rest of the girls. And now, she was not only back to laughing and smiling and joking, she was _dating_ Baekhyun.

Just thinking about it made Joonmyun want to break out into peals of giggles.

The previous weekend, she and Baekhyun had gone out on what was their first official date. They’d gone to see a bad rom com and gone to a mediocre restaurant afterwards, but Joonmyun still felt like it was all too good to be true.

As Baekhyun continued to lead the meeting, Joonmyun couldn’t help how her mind wandered. It was just hard to think about advertising for the winter band concert when she found herself focusing on the pale column of Baekhyun’s neck- her short ponytail bobbing and brushing against her nape.

They’d shared many short, chaste pecks in the past week, and their kisses over the weekend had been a bit more prolonged, but Joonmyun couldn’t get rid of her thoughts about kissing up Baekhyun’s throat- feeling her pulse fluttering against her lips and hearing her breath getting shorter with every drag of her mouth over the sensitive skin.

And then there were Baekhyun’s thighs, currently being hugged by a pair of very tight skinny jeans.

Previously, when they hadn’t been dating and Joonmyun had been mostly in denial about her feelings for Baekhyun, she hadn’t let herself fixate on Baekhyun’s soft, shapely thighs and how they’d feel under her fingertips- how they’d feel against her palms as she held Baekhyun’s legs apart…

Shifting in her seat, Joonmyun willed the heat in her face to abate. This was clearly not the time for thoughts like that. But it was difficult to stave them off when she had Baekhyun right in front of her, close enough to touch.

But she had to focus on what Baekhyun was _saying_. If she wanted to retain her spot on Baekhyun’s unofficial ‘useful members of student council list,’ she couldn’t let herself be distracted by the swell of Baekhyun’s breasts under her fitted sweater or the thought of how her elegant fingers would feel...places…

Shaking her head and clearing her throat just to snap herself out of it, Joonmyun clutched her pen a little bit tighter.

Those fantasies could wait until later. She had a job to do.

 

\---

 

Minseok’s phone buzzed next to her lunch tray for the fourth time since they’d sat down to lunch. Joonmyun watched Minseok read the text and then reply with a wry smile before going back to her food.

“Who keeps texting you?” Joonmyun couldn’t help herself from asking.

She hated to be one of those nosy people who always needed to know who their friends were talking to, especially because Minseok was so chill most of the time, but this was getting ridiculous.

“Hm?” Minseok looked up from her spaghetti-ish thing, like Joonmyun’s question was out of the blue, “No one important.”

Joonmyun blinked. “Then why do you keep texting them?”

“I’m not just texting one person,” Minseok waved her off, “I have more than one person I talk to.”

“Right,” Joonmyun frowned, “But you just seem to be texting a lot lately.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her.

“Are you dating Lu Han? Did he finally wear you down?”

Minseok scoffed, giving her a look, “Please.”

“Is it Yixing?” she guessed next.

“I _told_ you,” Minseok said, “I’m not just texting one person.”

Joonmyun had no idea why Minseok wouldn’t give her a straight answer, but she opted to let it go. Plus, it wasn’t like she was one to talk. She could hear her phone buzzing in her bag, and she knew it was Baekhyun texting from one of the choir practice rooms, where she always spent her lunch periods.

“So, how are things with Baekhyun?” Minseok asked, a knowing look in her eye like she knew that Joonmyun had _just_ been thinking about her girlfriend. (She still found herself smiling in disbelief when she thought about how Baekhyun was actually her _girlfriend_.)

“Good,” she replied, trying not to sound too giddy. It had been over two weeks since they’d gotten together. She had to stop behaving like a little kid about this. But she couldn’t squelch the bubble of excitement that inflated her heart every time she thought about Baekhyun.

“Glad to hear it,” Minseok said, amused smile on her face.

She knew Joonmyun too well for Joonmyun to be able to hide her excitement from her.

“I’m so lame,” Joonmyun laughed helplessly, burying her face in her hands, but still unable to stop her lips from curving up.

“You’re not lame,” Minseok assured her, though she still looked entertained by Joonmyun’s excitement over something that had happened weeks ago, “It’s nice that she makes you so happy.”

“Why do you look like you’re about to start laughing at me any second, then?” Joonmyun asked, pointing an accusatory finger in Minseok’s direction. But she knew her seemingly permanent smile gave away the fact that she wasn’t actually mad.

Minseok chuckled, “I’m just not used to seeing you like this. You were never like this with Kyuhyun,” she observed, “But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. I’m really happy for you.”

Joonmyun flushed and mumbled something that was supposed to be thank you, and Minseok laughed.

It was true, though. She’d dated before. Kyuhyun, and another guy before that. And she’d liked them just fine and had enjoyed dating them. But this...dating Baekhyun made her feel like she was in a rom com.

She wasn’t complaining, though. Definitely not complaining. She quite liked waking up with a smile on her face every morning, even if it undoubtedly led to her laughing at herself for being ridiculous.

Minseok was still grinning at her when she looked up.

“Shut up,” she huffed, laughing despite herself.

She was so busy thinking about the amazing kiss she and Baekhyun had shared when she’d dropped Baekhyun off at her house on Sunday after they’d gone to the mall that she barely even noticed Minseok’s phone vibrate again.

 

\---

 

Baekhyun’s grip on her hand as she dragged Joonmyun toward the girl’s room by the student council room was insistent- thin fingers having grabbed on as soon as they’d waved goodbye to the others and remaining firm as she pulled her into the empty bathroom.

Throughout the whole meeting, she’d been able to feel Baekhyun’s eyes on her. And while that wasn’t entirely unusual- Baekhyun had looked to her for a reaction even before they were dating- the look on Baekhyun’s face when she’d caught her staring had sent a jolt of heat straight to Joonmyun’s abdomen.

They had been together for just shy of a month, and they’d managed a few makeout sessions in cars and occasionally one another’s houses, but alone time was hard to come by.

Joonmyun remembered when she had asked Baekhyun if her parents would think they were getting up to something in the basement when she’d first gone to Baekhyun’s house and had been laughed at by Baekhyun, because Baekhyun’s parents were well aware that just because she liked girls didn’t mean that she was going to jump on every girl she knew. But now that they knew she and Baekhyun were dating, her parents definitely _did_ think that they were going to do something if they were alone (which they probably would have, to be fair), so they were no longer left alone for more than ten minutes at a time.

Joonmyun’ parents weren’t any better.

But just because they hadn’t had the opportunity to go beyond a little bit of groping over their shirts didn’t meant that they didn’t want to. And lately, it was becoming harder and harder to pull away from each other when they had a blessed ten minutes to themselves.

The want was building up between them, and Joonmyun had never been more aware of how much Baekhyun wanted her as she was right then when Baekhyun finally let go of her hand to press her against the tiled wall of the girl’s room.

Baekhyun’s lips were against her’s and Baekhyun wasted no time before she was licking into Joonmyun’s mouth- one hand on Joonmyun’s shoulder and the other gripping the back of her neck.

“I couldn’t concentrate at all during the meeting,” Baekhyun said against her lips before quickly resuming the kiss.

Joonmyun hadn’t been able to either. At least, not since she saw how Baekhyun was looking at her.

Pulling away wetly, Baekhyun murmured, “I dreamt about you last night, and now I can’t stop thinking about it.”

Joonmyun shivered, reaching up to thread her fingers through Baekhyun’s hair and pull her back into the kiss.

Baekhyun was pressed flush against her- their breasts sliding together through bulky sweaters and Baekhyun’s knee, covered in a thick wool sock, pressed between Joonmyun’s legs.

They might have been in the school bathroom, but it was easily the most intense kiss that they had shared.

Joonmyun was dizzy with want and panting by the time Baekhyun broke away again to breathe.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this here,” Joonmyun said, huffing out a laugh against Baekhyun’s lips.

Baekhyun grinned, chuckling as she pressed a close mouthed kiss to Joonmyun’s chin, “I have no issues with it.”

“Of course you don’t,” Joonmyun teased, watching Baekhyun’s eyelashes fan across her cheeks as she looked down at Joonmyun’s lips.

“Want you so much,” Baekhyun muttered, surging forward to resume their kiss.

Joonmyun shuddered, groaning against Baekhyun’s mouth, “Me too.”

“You want you too?” Baekhyun teased, pulling back enough to smirk at her.

“I can’t believe that you just stopping kissing me to make fun of me,” Joonmyun complained, laughing disbelievingly.

“Really?” Baekhyun quirked a brow.

“No, you’re right. I totally can,” Joonmyun amended, kissing the grin off Baekhyun’s lips and feeling how Baekhyun seemed to be trying to get even closer even though Joonmyun was pretty sure that wasn’t possible.

The sound of sneakers squeaking against tile had them breaking apart in time to see a junior girl hurry past them and into a stall, looking embarrassed to have walked in on them.

Joonmyun felt herself flush even as Baekhyun giggled.

“Let’s go,” she said, grabbing Baekhyun’s hand and leading her out of the bathroom before the girl could emerge from the stall.

The fact that the two of them were dating was common knowledge- had been from the day after Joonmyun had kissed Baekhyun in the hall, and it had been the juicy gossip for a couple of days before people stopped caring for the most part. They sometimes had people look at them strangely when they walked to class holding hands, but it appeared that most people had gotten over it.

Though now that some girl had seen them heavily making out on school property, Joonmyun couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to be the hot gossip again. But she had to admit that she didn’t really care. As long as they didn’t get in trouble, people could think and say what they wanted.

“Hey, so,” Baekhyun said as they exited the school into the cold, winter air, “My parents are going to be gone all day Saturday for some college reunion thing. Do you want to come over?”

Baekhyun’s lips were still puffy from kissing and she imagined her’s were as well, and yet Baekhyun looked nervous, like Joonmyun might tell her no despite the fact that her body was still hot with want for the other girl.

“Are you gonna get in trouble if I come over?” Joonmyun worried, knowing that her parents must have specifically told her that Joonmyun couldn’t be there while they were out.

Baekhyun shrugged, “How are they gonna know? I’m not concerned about that. But it’s cool if you don’t want to…”

“I do,” Joonmyun quickly jumped in, stomach fluttering and body heating at the thought of what they could do in an empty house, “I really want to.”

Baekhyun smiled in relief, though the way her cheeks were flushed made Joonmyun think that she was thinking about it too. Which only sent her own want even higher.

Four more days until the weekend.

Joonmyun was pretty sure this was going to be the least productive week of her life.

 

\---

 

On her back on Baekhyun’s bed with Baekhyun straddling her hips and pressing kisses her to her mouth and neck and collarbones was a place that Joonmyun had been in her fantasies several times, but this was the first time she was actually experiencing it.

When she’d been waiting for Baekhyun to pick her up that afternoon, she’d been some expected mix of nervous and excited. It would be her first time to do this with a girl. But at least she knew it was Baekhyun’s first time too, thanks to Sehun’s constant reminders that she and Zitao were more experienced than the rest of them.

And it appeared that Baekhyun had been somewhat anxious as well. She was fidgety and, somehow, even more talkative than usual.

But as soon as they’d stepped foot into Baekhyun’s noticeably empty house, Baekhyun had pulled her into a deep kiss that had Joonmyun’s nerves falling away so that all she could feel was how much she wanted this.

And now, maybe fifteen minutes after Baekhyun had first pushed her down on her bed, Joonmyun wasn’t thinking at all about how this was a big step or how she didn’t really know what she was doing.

She was thinking about Baekhyun’s hands that had snuck under her shirt and were palming her breasts through her bra- the only one she owned with lace trim.

Her own hands were alternately smoothing up and down the heated skin of Baekhyun’s back and gripping onto her hips.

The wetness that had gathered in her panties was enough that Joonmyun was sure that she’d completely soaked through them.

Baekhyun was in a skirt, having already shed her tights before they’d gotten on the bed, and Joonmyun was dying to feel if Baekhyun was as wet as she was, but she hesitated to do so without Baekhyun directly indicating that she wanted that. Joonmyun wanted to do this at Baekhyun’s pace.

“Joonmyun,” Baekhyun breathily huffed into her mouth, drawing her hands out of Joonmyun’s shirt, “Can you take your bra off?”

Joonmyun knew she must have frozen at Baekhyun’s request because Baekhyun stiffened.

“You don’t have to,” she amended, and Joonmyun decided that she needed to let Baekhyun know that she was up for whatever Baekhyun wanted to do. If Baekhyun wanted to stay above the waist, that was fine. If Baekhyun wanted her naked, she was totally fine with that too.

She was actually a lot _more_ than fine with that considering she’d spent the entire week going over everything she and Baekhyun could theoretically do in an empty house.

Joonmyun scooted up on the bed enough that she could prop herself up in her elbows and shimmy out of her shirt before unhooking her bra and tossing that away as well.

Baekhyun’s eyes were dark as they watched her, and she felt a little self-conscious, but she mostly just wanted Baekhyun’s shirt off too.

“You don’t need to worry about saying what you want,” Joonmyun told her, hands back on Baekhyun’s hips, “I...I’m okay with probably anything you’d ask,” she admitted.

Baekhyun looked almost overwhelmed for a second before a mischievous look crossed her face and Joonmyun knew what to expect before Baekhyun even opened her mouth.

“So all the whips and paddles I have under my bed are okay?” she teased, “And how about the live mice?”

“Baekhyun,” Joonmyun laughed, running her hands over Baekhyun’s exposed thighs and feeling Baekhyun shiver in response, “You know what I mean.”

Baekhyun laughed, leaning forward to press a kiss to Joonmyun’s lips, one hand coming up to knead Joonmyun’s bare breast.

“I’ve thought about this a lot,” Joonmyun said through a gasp as Baekhyun lightly pinched her nipple between two fingers.

“Me too,” was Baekhyun’s immediate reply, kissing along Joonmyun’s jaw and tonguing at her pulse point, “I want...I want you.”

Joonmyun shuddered from her words and touches, “I want you, too. I couldn’t stop thinking about this all week.”

“Same,” Baekhyun agreed, lips on Joonmyun’s clavicle, “I touched myself every day this week because I couldn’t stop imagining you touching me.”

Joonmyun groaned, back arching as Baekhyun tentatively licked at her nipple.

“I did too,” she gasped, threading her fingers through Baekhyun’s chin-length hair.

“Oh yeah?” Baekhyun asked, looking up at her with a confident smirk- knowing that Joonmyun was trembling from her touches, “What’d you think about while you touched yourself?”

Hissing, Joonmyun pushed her chest toward Baekhyun’s mouth- body thrumming as Baekhyun turned her attention to her other breast, palm sliding over the peaked nipple that she’d just sucked.

“I thought about you touching yourself,” Joonmyun admitted, Baekhyun’s ministrations on her breasts going straight between her legs.

Baekhyun quirked a brow even as she shivered, “You can watch sometime,” she told her, “But today, I want you to touch me.”

“Yes,” Joonmyun gasped, momentarily startled when Baekhyun’s warmth disappeared as Baekhyun sat up to pull her own shirt off.

Joonmyun gripped Baekhyun’s waist, eying her floral bra and the way it cupped her breasts perfectly. It was nice, but she’d much rather see Baekhyun out of it.

“Off,” she requested, reaching up to toy with one of the straps.

Baekhyun nodded and reached behind herself, unhooking her bra and letting fall away from her body. Joonmyun wasted no time before she cupped Baekhyun’s bare breasts- the silken weight in her palms only increasing her need to run her hands all over Baekhyun’s body to see what made her gasp.

Eyes dark with want, Baekhyun surged forward to kiss her- tongues tangling and breasts sliding together.

Joonmyun whimpered when she felt Baekhyun’s nipples, stiff with arousal, press into her skin. She wanted this girl so much.

Running her palms up the backs of Baekhyun’s thighs, Joonmyun felt the way Baekhyun’s hips shifted down when she was touching the skin right underneath her ass. Taking the hint, Joonmyun gripped Baekhyun’s ass through her underwear and reveled in the moan Baekhyun let out against her mouth.

“Touch me, please,” Baekhyun begged, and Joonmyun felt a jolt of lust strong enough that it took her breath away at the sound of Baekhyun begging for _her_.

“Okay,” she breathed, “Take off your skirt. And let’s switch places.”

Baekhyun scrambled to comply, crawling off Joonmyun to pull her skirt and underwear down on one go.

Baekhyun appeared to realize that she was the only one who was naked, and she flushed under Joonmyun’s heavy gaze, but Joonmyun was rendered momentarily speechless by the sight of her girlfriend completely bare for her and waiting for her touch.

“Why are you still wearing pants?” Baekhyun complained even as she settled herself on the bed, legs pressed together self-consciously.

Joonmyun laughed, standing up to unbutton and shove her fitted jeans down her legs. She hesitated before pushing her underwear down, last dregs of shyness making themselves known. But she pushed past it and just did it. Baekhyun was already naked, so it was only fair.

Baekhyun’s eyes were on her body, hungry, as Joonmyun climbed back on the bed- carefully lowering herself down so she was half on Baekhyun.

The feel of their skin sliding together with nothing in the way sent a shiver of lust through Joonmyun, fueling the burning want of the kiss she pressed to Baekhyun’s mouth.

Baekhyun’s arms were around her neck, pulling her closer, as Joonmyun slid her fingers from where they were cradling Baekhyun’s cheek to drag over her jaw and neck before she cupped Baekhyun’s breast- rubbing against her already peaked nipple with the pad of her thumb.

The little sounds Baekhyun was making into her mouth as she trailed her fingertips down the smooth skin of Baekhyun’s abdomen were making Joonmyun’s own arousal ache for attention, but that could wait. Baekhyun asked her to touch her, and she was definitely going to make that happen. She wanted to feel how much Baekhyun wanted her. But most of all, she wanted to make Baekhyun feel good.

She slid her hand lower, teasing the skin between Baekhyun’s sharp hipbones and right above the curls that disappeared between her legs.

Baekhyun gasped, hips twitching and thighs parting in invitation.

Joonmyun could smell Baekhyun’s arousal now, and it was making her dizzy with lust.

“Joonmyun, please,” Baekhyun begged, grasping onto Joonmyun’s wrist and guiding her hand so that her fingers pressed between Baekhyun’s widening thighs.

“Shit,” Joonmyun cursed appreciatively, feeling how wet Baekhyun was against her fingers. And even though she logically knew it was because of her that Baekhyun was so turned on, she couldn’t help the amazement and disbelief that she felt upon realizing that Baekhyun really did want her too.

Baekhyun made a little high pitched sound from finally having Joonmyun touching her where she wanted it, and Joonmyun just wanted her to make more of those sounds for her.

Pressing her lips to Baekhyun’s throat, she ran her fingers through the slickness gathered between Baekhyun’s legs. She didn’t really know what she was doing, but it wasn’t so different from touching herself, so she started out just doing what she liked and gauging Baekhyun’s reactions.

Baekhyun had stopped guiding her hand and was, instead, gripping Joonmyun’s shoulders- nails digging in when Joonmyun swirled the pad of her middle finger around Baekhyun’s clit.

“Oh my god, Joonmyun,” Baekhyun whimpered, “Fuck. I’ve been thinking about this for so long.”

“Me too,” Joonmyun murmured, nibbling lightly on Baekhyun’s ear.

“You don’t even know-” Baekhyun gasped, hips rocking against Joonmyun’s moving fingers, “how long I’ve wanted this. _Fuck_.”

Baekhyun’s voice was so breathy and she kept making these little noises that were equal parts cute and arousing that Joonmyun could feel the slick between her own thighs increasing from the knowledge that she was the one who was wrecking Baekhyun and making her feel like this.

“After that first time you came over to watch a movie,” Baekhyun told her, pausing to moan when Joonmyun slid a finger into her slit, feeling her walls ripple, “I masturbated and pretended it was you going down on me.”

Joonmyun groaned, squeezing her thighs together as a wave of want washed over her and made her head spin, “God, Baek,” she gasped, “That’s so-”

“Fuck, I didn’t mean to tell you that,” Baekhyun rushed to say, even as her voice wavered when Joonmyun inserted a second finger inside of her.

“The first time I thought of you while I masturbated,” Joonmyun said, pressing the heel of her palm against Baekhyun’s clit and feeling the full body shudder it elicited, “I came to the thought of you with three fingers inside of yourself.”

Joonmyun had just told her that so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed for admitting what she had, but Baekhyun let out a pained sounding sob at her admission, body squeezing even tighter around her two fingers.

Joonmyun felt Baekhyun’s clit pulse and jerk against the heel of her hand, and she muffled her own groan against Baekhyun’s neck.

“Fuck, Joonmyun,” Baekhyun gasped, “I’m close.”

Adding a third finger, Joonmyun felt Baekhyun’s muscles tighten- hips rocking into her hand frantically now.

“Oh my god,” Baekhyun sobbed, holding onto Joonmyun’s arm like she might just try to withdraw her hand from where it was despite how close Baekhyun was.

Joonmyun felt it as Baekhyun’s thigh muscles firmed and locked- her pussy throbbing around her fingers.

“Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck,” Baekhyun whimpered, eyes open and blindly staring at the ceiling and her mouth open around a moan that seemed trapped in her throat.

Joonmyun felt the way Baekhyun was spasming against her palm as she came, and she felt a fresh jolt of lust shoot through her and coil in her abdomen.

She had made Baekhyun come. She had touched Baekhyun until she orgasmed- Joonmyun’s name coming out of her parted lips in choked whimpers.

And she had never experienced anything hotter in her entire life.

Joonmyun felt her own arousal give a desperate throb at what she’d just been privy to, and she had to force herself to stay focused on bringing Baekhyun down from her high instead of reaching a hand between her own legs to relieve the nearly unbearable ache.

Baekhyun sucked in a breath, body relaxing into the bed. Joonmyun pulled her fingers out and reached over Baekhyun to grab a tissue from the bedside table.

“Shit, Joonmyun,” Baekhyun breathed, nuzzling her face into the crook of Joonmyun’s neck and shoulder.

Joonmyun chuckled, running a hand soothingly down Baekhyun’s side.

“Was it...okay?” Baekhyun asked quietly, words spoken into Joonmyun’s skin.

“Why are you asking me?” Joonmyun asked incredulously, “Shouldn’t I be asking you?”

“I don’t think you really have to ask,” Baekhyun giggled, “But, I was asking because you’ve only dated boys before, so I wanted to be sure…”

Joonmyun understood why Baekhyun felt that she had to ask, but she wished that Baekhyun wouldn’t second guess herself so much. So, Joonmyun wanted to make it extremely clear that she’d very much enjoyed that.

“Baekhyun,” she said, grabbing Baekhyun’s wrist just as she had done to her and guiding her hand between her own legs, “Feel how wet I am.”

Baekhyun gasped when her fingers met the slickness of Joonmyun’s arousal. She was wet enough that her inner thighs were slick as well, and Joonmyun was pretty sure this was the most turned on she’d ever been in her entire life.

“Fuck,” Baekhyun swore, sliding her fingers up and down Joonmyun’s folds.

Joonmyun had put her hand there for demonstration purposes, but now that Baekhyun was really touching her, she couldn’t get enough.

“More please,” she gasped, inhale shaky with how good it felt to have Baekhyun’s fingers on her, especially when she was so worked up already- so swollen and sensitive before Baekhyun had even touched her.

“Lay down on your back,” Baekhyun told her, pulling her hand away and making Joonmyun want to cry with how much she needed her fingers on her.

But still, she complied, laying down in the warm spot where Baekhyun had been lying before.

She expected Baekhyun to lay next to her, but instead she was sitting on her feet between Joonmyun’s slightly parted legs.

“Up,” Baekhyun instructed, hooking her hands behind Joonmyun’s knees and helping her fold her legs up so her thighs were against her chest.

Joonmyun might have been self conscious to be so open and on display, but as it was, she was too desperate for Baekhyun to touch her to even think of it.

She was also too worked up to process just what was happening, because when she felt Baekhyun’s breath against her pussy and her hair tickling against the backs of her legs, she almost yelped in surprise.

“Is this okay?” Baekhyun asked, but she sounded a little smug, like she already knew the answer.

“ _Yes_ ,” Joonmyun breathed, and she didn’t even have time to register the fact that Baekhyun was about to eat her out before Baekhyun’s tongue was teasing her clit and Joonmyun made some inhuman sound she hadn’t even known she was capable of making.

She could feel Baekhyun’s chuckle of amusement against her arousal, but she was so caught up in the sensations, she didn’t bother to tell Baekhyun to shut up.

Baekhyun hadn’t done this before, she knew, but she didn’t seem to be struggling at all. Joonmyun was almost afraid of how easily Baekhyun would be able to destroy her once she had more practice.

But that wasn’t important at the moment.

What was important was the way Baekhyun was teasing her clit with the tip of her tongue as she slowly slid one, thin finger inside of her- pumping it in and out a few times before curling it and hitting just the right spot inside of her.

“Oh,” Joonmyun moaned one hand grabbing onto the pillow under her head and the other continuing to hold her left leg up.

Baekhyun started lapping more determinedly at her clit as she added a second finger, and Joonmyun felt a wave of pleasure radiate from her core. She was already close and it had only been a couple minutes.

But it just felt so _good_.

Plus, the fact that it was _Baekhyun_ \- this girl who was one of her best friends, whom she’d been fantasizing about for months, whom she was pretty sure she was in love with- who was making her feel like this just made it even better.

“I’m close, Baekhyun,” she warned, hips twitching and clit pulsing against Baekhyun’s tongue.

Baekhyun hummed and _oh_. That was so good. She was so close. _Fuck._

“ _Baek_ ,” she whimpered, feeling Baekhyun’s lips wrap around her clit and suck.

And that was it. She was done.

Joonmyun felt herself tip over the edge- everything almost going numb before intense pleasure coursed through her and had her choking on a moan, choking on Baekhyun’s name as she came hard against Baekhyun’s tongue and around her fingers.

Her orgasm felt like it lasted forever, pulsing through her and leaving her breathless- nose, lips, and fingertips tingling by the time she finally came down.

Joonmyun blinked her eyes open when she felt Baekhyun flop down next to her, curling into her body and hooking her chin over Joonmyun’s shoulder.

“How was that?” Baekhyun asked, and she sounded so smug, Joonmyun reached out to pinch Baekhyun’s side playfully- laughing when she yelped.

“It was good,” she answered, smiling at Baekhyun who was glomming on to her again after briefly rolling away due to the pinch

“Just good?” she pressed, batting her eyelashes in a way that looked far more ridiculous than charming.

“Baekhyun!” Joonmyun laughed incredulously, still trying to recover her senses after that mind blowing orgasm.

Baekhyun grinned, throwing a leg across Joonmyun’s and wiggling her cold toes between Joonmyun’s calves.

Naturally, Baekhyun was a cuddler after sex. But Joonmyun was quite okay with that.

“So,” Baekhyun said after a moment of quiet, “You think about me fingering myself, huh?”

Some people might have been embarrassed to say such a sentence, but not Baekhyun. Instead, Baekhyun sounded very pleased with herself. And very much like she intended to torment Joonmyun with her admission for as long as possible.

Joonmyun sighed and turned her head to give Baekhyun a look.

“What?” Baekhyun asked, feigning innocence, “I don’t know why you’re looking at me like that. I already told you I’d let you watch that sometime.”

Joonmyun felt a twang of arousal vibrate through her.

“But not today,” Baekhyun went on, “You have to earn it first.”

Joonmyun leveled her with an unimpressed look, “Seriously?”

Baekhyun grinned, “It’s a sight that many desire to see. You should feel privileged that you even have the opportunity.”

Joonmyun rolled her eyes, but let Baekhyun squirm to fit even more snugly into her side.

Even Baekhyun teasing her couldn’t take away from how happy she felt. And if she was honest, she quite liked the teasing. Though she’d never tell that to Baekhyun outright. She was insufferable enough as it was.

But Joonmyun wouldn’t change a thing.

 

\---

 

“You know, it’s kind of cute that the two short student council members are dating,” Zitao teased as they were gathering their things to leave after their meeting on Monday.

“It’s not my fault you guys are all trees,” Baekhyun replied, “But yes. We are adorable. Thank you for noticing.”

Zitao scoffed good naturedly as Chanyeol guffawed, mussing Baekhyun’s hair and earning herself a scowl.

Joonmyun didn’t mind the short jokes too much. She’d been getting them her whole life. And if they got her Baekhyun grabbing onto her hand and leaning into her in a show of solidarity, then she was more than okay with them.

But then, what happened next seemed to happen in slow-mo, like a dramatic scene in a movie.

The five of them exited the classroom to find Kyungsoo waiting outside, which was unusual. But not _that_ strange since she had volleyball with Chanyeol afterward. Maybe she needed her for something.

But then Chanyeol skipped over to her and _kissed_ her. On the lips. With her lips.

And Kyungsoo _didn’t_ punch her.

The four of them who _weren’t_ involved in the kiss were all in various states of shock.

Noticing their blatant gaping, Kyungsoo frowned at them.

“What?” she snapped, “You’ve never seen two girls kiss before?”

Joonmyun was going to go ahead and assume she was being ironic by asking that.

Baekhyun opened her mouth, probably to make a comment about Sehun and Zitao constantly eating each other’s faces, but Kyungsoo spoke again before she could.

“I’m gonna go wait in the gym,” she said, addressing Chanyeol before she walked off.

Joonmyun blinked, trying to process what had just happened.

“When did this happen?” Baekhyun demanded, “When were you gonna tell us that you’d tamed the beast?!”

“Didn’t seem tamed to me,” Sehun muttered.

“No, wait,” Zitao cut in, “Answer the most important question first: how the hell did you _manage_ this?”

All four of them waited for an answer.

“We’re dating now,” Chanyeol informed them happily, as though that wasn’t obvious.

“Right,” Sehun said slowly, “but _how_?”

“I asked her out,” Chanyeol told them, like this wasn’t all a huge shock, “Well, I have to go to volleyball now. See you guys later!”

“You’d better call me later and fill me in on the details, Chanyeol!” Baekhyun hollered after her as Chanyeol basically frolicked her way down the hall.

“That was...different,” Zitao observed, still stunned.

“I’m happy for her,” Joonmyun said, “She’s liked Kyungsoo for so long.”

“We’re happy for her too!” Sehun defended, seeming insulted that Joonmyun had been the first to say it, “We’re just also _confused_. Because it’s _Kyungsoo_ , who has never actually shown interest in dating anyone. And is terrifying.”

“Possibly a murderer,” Baekhyun agreed.

“Well, she’s Chanyeol’s murderer now,” Zitao proclaimed, hooking her arm through Sehun’s, “We have to go. My parents are only gonna be out until six.”

With Zitao’s and Sehun’s hasty exit, it was just Joonmyun and Baekhyun left.

“Want to work on homework at my house?” Baekhyun asked, heading toward the door with her hand still clasped around Joonmyun’s, “And my mom told me to tell you that you are welcome to stay for dinner.”

Joonmyun grinned, feeling warmth bubble in her chest, “Sure. That sounds great.”

“I think my mom likes you more than me,” Baekhyun grumbled, “Stop being so charming.”

“As if you aren’t charming,” Joonmyun laughed, grip around Baekhyun’s hand tightening as they walked out into the cold.

“I _am_ very charming,” Baekhyun agreed, tossing her hair exaggeratedly.

It was December, so the sun was already starting to set, and that somehow made it seem even more cold.

Joonmyun was taken back to the first meeting when she and Baekhyun had walked home together- Baekhyun’s hair gleaming in the sun as she’d explained why she’d wanted to make the student council lesbians only.

On that first day, Joonmyun couldn’t have known that she’d end up falling for Baekhyun and having her entire world turned upside down.

As she looked at Baekhyun, with her big scarf nearly covering her mouth and her cheeks pink from the cold, Joonmyun still kind of couldn’t believe how well things had worked out.

But Baekhyun’s cold fingers laced with her’s reminded her that this was real- that this was really happening.

Joonmyun vowed to never forget just how fortunate she was that she had been given a second chance.

Watching Baekhyun animatedly talk about her last class, Joonmyun knew that nothing was worth losing Baekhyun again. She definitely wouldn’t blow it, this time.

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from Taylor's Swift's _How You Get the Girl_.
> 
> [This](http://poemsbyshelsilverstein.blogspot.kr/2009/01/poem-by-shel-silverstein-pg-95.html) is the poem Joonmyun was thinking of when she was drunk and Chanyeol was upside down.
> 
> Follow me on [tumblr](http://g-odalisque13.tumblr.com/) if you are so inclined ^^


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